What Should Happen to General McChrystal?

I think that is true for run of the mill soldiers, but not for the general in charge. Part of his job is being a spokesman for the military.

My point is, the White House can't have it both ways. If it wants its generals to be spokespeople, let them give press conferences and don't let them sniff around in their daily business.

McChrystal surrounded himself with a staff of similar backgrounds as his own from Special Forces, according to military officials.

"There are different, specific individuals, but they are not totally different types," according to O'Hanlon. "They're all cerebral, hardworking. Frankly, they're quite loyal, quite respectful, despite this magazine portrayal," he said.

However, one military official who would not speak on the record thinks McChrystal's undoing may have been that his staff was from a similar Special Operations background. Special operations forces as tradecraft stay out of the limelight and the media to keep their anonymity.

"Gen. McChrystal and the special operations community have not been offered the opportunities to learn the art of dealing with the media. They tend to avoid media engagements at all levels," the official said.

"His staff either did not understand the differences, didn't care about the differences, or were so frustrated [with the administration] that they were blinded by the differences," the official said when referring to the rule of working with reporters.

Despite how the article's tale of the staff played out, O'Hanlon said it is a "reflection of bad judgment on the staff."

But, he says, "I've seen him [McChrystal] in action and been around him in private settings, and he doesn't act like this typically, nor does his staff."

Stanley McChrystal to retire with four-star rank
Gen. Stanley McChrystal will retain his four-star rank when he retires from the military, the White House said Tuesday. The decision means the general will earn about $149,700 per year before taxes in military retirement pay.


Gen. Stanley McChrystalPresident Obama dismissed McChrystal last week after he and members of his staff made disparaging comments about Vice President Biden and other officials in a Rolling Stone magazine article.

McChrystal, 55, was promoted to four stars last year when he assumed control of military operations in Afghanistan. He announced plans Monday to retire from the military after 34 years, a process that's expected to take a few months.

Army rules state a four-star general must serve three years before they can retain the rank in retirement. But the president can bypass the rule if he chooses to do so. McChrystal would have earned about $140,832 annually as a three-star retiree, meaning Obama's decision nets him another $8,868 annually, according to military retirement figures compiled by the Pentagon.

The memo is expected to reanimate the professional public-affairs cadre among the Pentagon’s civilian and military staffs, who have made no secret that they have felt challenged by the growing numbers of contractors hired for “strategic communications” issues. It was one such contractor who brokered Rolling Stone’s profile of General McChrystal.

So I think the entire episode is just a cock-up from start to finish

Hastings then traveled with McChrystal in Afghanistan for more reporting. In the end, what was originally supposed to be a two-day visit, turned into a month, in part thanks to the disruptions created by the volcano.

this question, too, appears to be turning on partisan preferences. Of the posters now calling for McCrystal's head, about half cried foul when Bush fired General Shinsake for publically questioning Bush administration cost estimates, in money and troups, of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Washington Times reported Shinseki's plans to retire nearly a year before his Feb. 25, 2003 testimony. The Times article was published April 19, 2002: Washington Times: He (Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld) and Army Secretary Thomas White have settled on Gen. John M. Keane, Army deputy chief of staff, to succeed the current chief, Gen. Eric Shinseki. Gen. Shinseki does not retire for more than a year.

Senior military officers were in widespread agreement that the president had no choice but to fire General McChrystal after he and his staff were quoted in a Rolling Stone article disparaging Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and other senior Obama administration officials.

But they said the president’s decision to allow General McChrystal to retire with four stars was an important indicator for future potential employers — perhaps some defense contractors lining the Beltway around Washington — that he was not radioactive, at least as far as the White House was concerned.

Forcing him to retire with three stars “would have sent a signal that he was out of favor,” said John A. Nagl, a retired lieutenant colonel and president of the Center for a New American Security, a nonpartisan military policy institution in Washington.