Cracked Links in the Chain of Command

Thanks to Wikicommons.

In case you weren’t following last weeks news there has been a major (or should we say general) change of command in Afghanistan.  The head of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has resigned his position.

Why?

In a new article in Rolling Stone Magazine, titled appropriately “The Runaway General”, some of McCrystals’ unflattering opinions about higher ups leaked out.

The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked “uncomfortable and intimidated” by the roomful of military brass.

The Rolling Stone article that got General McChrystal fired does a great job of preempting on why he got fired:

Although McChrystal has been in charge of the war for only a year, in that short time he has managed to piss off almost everyone with a stake in the conflict.

Noah Shactman of Danger Room, an excellent blog on military technology and affairs, provides another reason for McChrystal’s removal:

For a counterinsurgency to work — and they are hard to pull off — militants need to be challenged along a broad spectrum of conflict: from armed coercion to economic persuasion. And for that to happen, you need a team of diplomats and troops working closely together. That clearly wasn’t happening under McChrystal.

So now that General McChrystal is gone who is the next victim of Afghanistan command?

It is none other than the hero of Iraq, General David Petraeus.

This choice not only brings in a proven commander but it also helps Obama’s political situation.  As Democracy in America points out:

Mr Obama is still ultimately responsible for the outcome, but he will be judged alongside General Petraeus. And many of the president’s critics are General Petraeus’s biggest fans. With the selection, Mr Obama has, once again, co-opted a political rival.

Robert Haddick for Foreign Policy does point out one issue of Petraeus’ new job (which is technically a step down):

After jumping into the Afghan vortex, Petraeus will leave behind his critical duties at Central Command, which include diplomacy across the Middle East and Central Asia, the containment of Iran, and supervising the endgame in Iraq. The administration has yet to announce who, if anyone, will replace Petraeus at Centcom.

As the clock ticks down for Obama’s planned withdrawal Afghanistan continues to be one of the largest uncertainties the Administration has had to deal with.  We at US Democrazy will keep you posted on how the new Afghan boss works out.  Until then, why don’t you shout out your feelings on our Af-Pak adventure.