An American Lion

The Obama Administration has decided to fire one of our most critically-needed Generals in the middle of a desperate fight. This stands as proof that we need not wait for the Obama Administration to dissolve into folly and chaos:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to announce Monday afternoon that he is replacing Gen. David McKiernan as the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, to be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, defense officials tell CNN.

Who did McKiernan quarrel with, then? Is this really the doings of Secretary Gates? Gates was there when McKiernan was chosen, after all. Did he quarrel with his fellow generals in the theater? Did he draw the ire of the US State Department or the envoy? Did he quarrel with some politicians? Did some low-rent Euro trash get him fired from his command of NATO forces in Afghanistan? Is he being sacrificed for some reason? This all but ends the career of a great US Army General. This was the man who led the attack on Iraq in 2003, brilliantly commanding US troops in their historic drive on Baghdad. Say what you will about the Iraq War, the first three weeks were some of the most brilliant in military history. When McKiernan was chosen to lead our forces in Afghanistan last year, I was quite relieved. Now? Now I am uncertain and confused, and I don't like being uncertain and confused. Whatever the reason, if politics had a hand in it, then the Obama has taken the reins and he owns what happens in Afghanistan to our troops and to our policy. He now owns it. A-ha!

McKiernan, on the job about a year, has asked repeatedly for additional forces.

Well, that settles it, then. If President Obama can fire a general because he wants more troops, then I guess liberals are going to have to find a way to eat their words when it comes to past criticisms of President Bush. If McChrystal then turns around and asks for more troops, the circle will be complete--President Obama will have taken ownership of the war and will have backed himself into a corner. 

More, from the NY Times:

Defense officials said that General McKiernan was removed because of what they described as a conventional approach to what has become one of the most complicated military challenges in American history. He is to be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, a former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command who recently ran all special operations in Iraq. The decision reflects a belief that the war in Afghanistan has grown so complex that it needs a commander drawn from the military’s unconventional warfare branch. “Our mission there requires new thinking and new approaches by our military leaders,” said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates at a news conference this afternoon announcing General McKiernan’s dismissal. Mr. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered few reasons for General McKiernan’s ouster beyond generalities that “fresh eyes” were needed. “Nothing went wrong and there was nothing specific,” Mr. Gates said. It was simply his conviction, he added, “that a new approach was probably in our best interest.” In February, Mr. Obama announced a new strategy, a troop increase and a broader commitment to civilian instruction for the war in Afghanistan. General McKiernan had served in his current command for only 11 months, while such tours are usually two years or more.

I'm not buying it. McChrystal's resume comes with a bit of a blemish, one that will have political implications for the future:

General McChrystal, a West Point graduate who served in Afghanistan as chief of staff of the military operations there in 2001 and 2002, also commanded the 75th Ranger Regiment and served tours in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf war in 1991. One spot on his generally sterling military record came in 2007, when a Pentagon investigation into the accidental shooting death in 2004 of Cpl. Pat Tillman by fellow Army Rangers in Afghanistan held General McChrystal accountable for inaccurate information provided by Corporal Tillman’s unit in recommending him for a Silver Star. The information wrongly suggested that Corporal Tillman, a professional football player whose decision to enlist in the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks drew national attention, had been killed by enemy fire.

 Hmm. What say you, liberals? What knots will you tie yourselves up into trying to make this look like a bold stroke of genius?