Experts: Obama’s Decision on McChrystal’s Job Won’t Change Flawed Afghan Strategy
Experts say no change at the top is going to alter an essentially flawed strategy in a seemingly endless conflict.
By: David A. Patten at Newsmax.com
The fate of Afghanistan war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal may be determined tomorrow, after an angry President Obama summoned him back to Washington Tuesday to face the same officials he and his staff blasted in an upcoming magazine article.
Obama said Tuesday he wants to speak directly to McChrystal before deciding whether to fire the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan for mocking and disparaging his leadership.
Obama will meet with McChrystal on Wednesday at the White House.
“I think it’s clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed a poor — showed poor judgment,” the president said in his first comments on the matter, surrounded by members of his Cabinet at the close of their meeting. “But I also want to make sure that I talk to him directly before I make any final decisions.”
As the media were being ushered out quickly by press aides, Obama stopped them again to emphasize his concern about the troops.
“I want everybody to keep in mind what our central focus is — and that is success in making sure that al Qaida and its affiliates cannot attack the United States and its allies,” Obama said.
“And we’ve got young men and women there who are making enormous sacrifices, families back home who are making enormous sacrifices,” he said.
If President Obama decides that McChrystal must go, he will be firing the general he appointed and empowered to design the counterinsurgency strategy the nation is counting on to win the war in Afghanistan.
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