Gen. David Petraeus to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal as commander of forces in Afghanistan

This is breaking news from CNN.

I will link the article discussing the meeting and the subsequent relief of duty for McChrystal.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal has been relieved of his position as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, according to a top national security source.

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama will make a statement at 1:30 p.m. ET, the White House said. That's only a few hours after speaking with embattled Gen. Stanley McChrystal in a meeting that may have decided whether McChrystal keeps his job as the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan.

McChrystal's fate has been uncertain in the wake of politically explosive remarks the general and his aides made about key administration officials in Rolling Stone magazine.

The White House has asked the Pentagon to make a list of possible replacements for McChrystal because Obama wants to be ready if he decides to fire the general, a senior administration official told CNN Wednesday. Obama will speak on camera about the issue, senior administration officials noted.

McChrystal is unlikely to survive the fallout from the Rolling Stone story, a Pentagon source who has ongoing contact with the general told CNN earlier.

He will likely resign Wednesday, the source said. Obama was "angry" after reading the general's remarks, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.

McChrystal met Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, before going to the White House Wednesday morning, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

He arrived at the White House to meet Obama in the Oval Office just before 9:45 a.m. ET. The high-stakes meeting with Obama began six minutes later and lasted for roughly a half hour. McChrystal departed the White House around 10:30 a.m.

Source

Thoughts ATS?

What does this mean for the war?

~Keeper


[edit on 6/23/2010 by tothetenthpower]

It means one war monger will replace another war monger.

Originally posted by Misoir
It means one war monger will replace another war monger.

I would agree with that I suppose.

But Patraeus already has plenty on his plate now I would think.

Is it intelligent to give him even more oversight when he's having trouble doing his current job?

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower


It means it will continue, with a fellow who will keep his mouth shut, and not tell anybody what exactly is going on, and what is wrong.

Disgusting, that there are puppets, who will follow their strings, and not make waves, in regards to opinions of how wrong this whole thing is!

I wonder if Gen. MacChrystal intends on keeping a vow of silence. It could be a very noisy couple of months if he decides 'to let it all hang out' so to speak.

This is essentially a demotion for Petraeus.

He was CENTCOM commander, aka McChrystal's former boss. Now a new CENTCOM commander will have to be selected.

Obama's and Biden's complete lack of military experience have been shown.

Obama's policy of group hugging is not working.

Thank you, President Obama, for giving aid and comfort to OUR enemies.

Originally posted by Pellevoisin
I wonder if Gen. MacChrystal intends on keeping a vow of silence. It could be a very noisy couple of months if he decides 'to let it all hang out' so to speak.

That will depend on how the Obama Administration handles his departure I suppose.

If they stick it to him and he doesn't like it, he could blow the lid off the wars and even perhaps steal the presidency away if the GOP are smart enough to pick him up.

That would be interesting.

~Keeper

Punitive Articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Article 88—Contempt toward officials

“Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct"

Maximum punishment.

Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.

reply to post by Lionel


The key word there is contemptuous.

The only thing he said in the article was a joke about Biden, which was from a press conference before.

All other remarks were from aides and staff. Some of those remarks may have been in contempt. I would support an investigation into those remarks.

[edit on 23/6/10 by MikeboydUS]

This is the problem, the president should not be running wars; that should be left to the Secretary of Defense and the Army, Navy*, and Air Force service chiefs. Back in "Veetnam" as LBJ would pronounce it he micromanaged everything right down to what plane would bomb which target, and which pilot would be flying that plane.

* = Marines and Coast Guard fall under US Navy control for operational purposes.

Maybe the good general knows something about 200000+ tolen cables allegedly sent to wiki leaks.

The general will make rounds telling his side of the story. Obama and company will deny. Meanwhile, the war in Afghanistan will get a new strategy(again) and IMO it will be an exit strategy.

reply to post by jam321


I still think that they should've put general Mattis (USMC) out there as the CG of MNFA and ISAF, I never got to meet Gen. Mccrystal but I did get to work around Gen. Patreaus for almost 8 months and other high brass within MNFI and NATO Dont think there would be any problems with him on board, he probably would have said something like this:

"I come in peace, I didn't bring artillery. But I am pleading with you with tears in my eyes: If you # with me, I'll kill you all."

Marine Corps General James Mattis, to Iraqi tribal leaders

I guess we will see how all this pans out, hope they get someone in their that can and will do the right thing

reply to post by tothetenthpower


And if the GOP doesnt pick him up maybe he will claim PTSD with the VA as the reason he went saying stuff to rolling stone magazine therefore sliding out with a hefty pension, some VA benefiets and a promising career in the writing department.

Originally posted by Lionel
Punitive Articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Article 88—Contempt toward officials

“Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct"

Maximum punishment.

Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.

Obama accepted his resignation.

My own personal "erosion of trust" over General McChrystal was his involvement in the Pat Tillman incident. That, to me, showed his true colors then. I'm not surprised now.

I don't give a damn what McChrystal said about the President.

It's called freedom of opinion and Obama needs to get off his high horse and accept criticism without taking it TO THE MAX EXTREME!!

What a real loser though, someone says something remotely critical and he gets FIRED?? WTH!!

Someone needs to DEMOTE the commander in chief! Maybe skinning potatos for a few weeks will wake Obama up!

What a freaking joke this pony show is. The hypocrisy and playing favorites has got to come to an end, makes me puke.

Grrr!

UCMJ 88 is a joke and abomination. The First Amendment trumps it.

Why the HELL would someone RISK their life to defend Freedom when they are not even ALLOWED any???

This planet is freaking retarded beyond belief....


[edit on 23-6-2010 by muzzleflash]

Originally posted by jam321
The general will make rounds telling his side of the story. Obama and company will deny. Meanwhile, the war in Afghanistan will get a new strategy(again) and IMO it will be an exit strategy.

No way.

We are staying in Afghanistan for at least 100 years.

Think of the worst case scenario.

Thats the real scenario.

Well the article says McChrystal voted for Obama so the guy is not playing with a full deck to begin with. And his Strategy called COIN sucks it won't work and will take at least another 10 years to prove it won't work! And of course he is a known liar based on the Tillman cover up. So he'll make a great politician... Sigh!

We need to get the hell out of that place and Iraq!

[edit on 23-6-2010 by hawkiye]