Gen. McChrystal’s fireable offense
My father, a lieutenant general in command of the 7th Army in Germany at the beginning of the Vietnam War, had had dealings with President Johnson. To say that he loathed him was an understatement, as it was for many in the military. But the president was his commander in chief, and he believed the office should be honored. That was something we were raised with, something we all understood, and, though we may not have agreed with my father, it was something we accepted as being part of the military. Never was that belief more reinforced than the night before my sister Donna’s wedding in 1964, when my father asked everyone to stand and toast the president of the United States.
With that context, I was stunned this week by the portrayal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal in Rolling Stone. Not only did he reportedly give aides the impression that he was disappointed in his first Oval Office meeting with the president and considered Obama unprepared, he also dismissed Vice President Joe Biden with “who’s that?”
A fireable offense? Without question. What I don’t understand is: What’s the wait? President Obama should have fired him on the phone the moment he first heard about this. He should not be allowed to resign. He should be fired outright. It is insubordination of the worst kind.
Washington Post
6/23/10
Magnolia Tribune
