So, we have confirmation...yet again...that Obama is a thin-skinned little man-child. Whoop.
But there are good things that come out of this. The first is that it is probable that Petraeus levered some concessions out of the Obami...changes in the civilian side of Afghanistan players. That would be ALL to the good if Petraeus named his choices.
The second is described by Michael Yon:
The United States has again called upon Gen. David Petraeus during crisis. There have been other times, the most remarkable being in January 2007, when we were on the cusp of losing the war in Iraq. The chances against success were increasingly remote. I was there through the entire surge, and more, and saw the remarkable transformation under the command of General Petraeus and due to the incredible efforts of our armed forces and their civilian counterparts. No book that I have read, including the one that I wrote, has fully conveyed the magnitude of those days. You simply had to be there.
Here we are again, this time on the cusp of losing the war in Afghanistan. The situation is worse than ever before. Again, the United States has asked Gen. David Petraeus to step into a situation that seems hopeless to many people. It is not hopeless, just extremely bad. All is not lost, just nearly lost. Our people can turn this war around.Yon, as noted in this blog previously, relates that McChrystal's ROE were so weird that they were being disregarded by officers and grunts in the field. I think we can expect that Petraeus will review those, and bring some innovations to the theater that will be warmly welcomed by the people with the most direct interest...our war-fighters. They are ALWAYS ready to adopt what works.
In our history, we have been blessed at critical times with the right generals. We had no right to expect a Washington, a Grant, or a Patton. But we got them...somehow. Maybe, in Petraeus, our luck is holding.
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"Maybe, in Petraeus, our luck is holding."
ReplyDeleteI seriously doubt Patreus would have accepted the assignment unless Barry promised him an apolitical, hands-off approach to let him get the job done. IMHO, his leadership in Iraq was nothing short of masterful, insightful, focussed, result oriented and close to genius.
Personally, I would enthusiastically back a Patreus run for president in '12. He loathes politics and Washington so will not likely be in the picture, but that in itself together with his proven effective problem solving and a-partisan leadership makes him the best man for the job - and his genuine patriotism, loyalty and humility are rare and precious.
Had Patreus said "plug the damn hole", it would have been plugged by now. He would have found a solution and gotten the job done.
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/06/24/did-obama-eliminate-a-2012-challenger-by-sending-petraeus-back-to-the-front/
ReplyDeleteInteresting question in light of your comments.
Also, isn't it fascinating that we learn NOW that McChrystal is a big liberal? That the MSM has been sitting on this information?