Duncan Boothby RESIGNS: McChrystal Aide Steps Down In Wake Of Rolling Stone Piece

Duncan Boothby, a "senior media aide" to Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has resigned in the wake of an explosive Rolling Stone expose that features McChrystal's staff openly criticizing key members of the Obama administration.

The Washington Post reported that Boothby, a civilian press aide, "was heavily involved in arranging access for journalist Michael Hastings to McChrystal and his staff this year so Hastings could write the profile, titled 'The Runaway General.'"

This is a developing story, more updates soon.

Comments

[Wonderwheel]

08:31 PM on 06/28/2010

Thank you Duncan Boothby, for getting McCrystal to expose his real character.

[retromega]

01:44 PM on 06/23/2010

What! The General fires the man who set up the interviews that the General [sic] and his staff of syncofants were way to arrogant to think their quoted and displayed crap would not play well in the United States of America? Boy isn't that a great example of how McChrystal stands by his men!

Every little bit that comes out of this reveals an incredible level of arrogance and a level of ignorance that is at least twice a thick!

Don't members of the military take an oath, like the President, the members of Congress, and other people we trust with upholding our way of life, take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America?

I'd bet that McChrystal and his band of South American wanna be's coup members have some kind of weird justification for their anti-democratic and anti-American behavior. And like the rest of the American people I'd like to know the names of the Senators and Congress people who had encouraged his lawless and un-American Bull Shit!

[Firststater]

01:17 PM on 06/23/2010

President Obama has to stand up and show leadership and get rid of General McChrystal after this latest act of insubordination and bad judgment. This guy is a loose cannon who obviously has no respect for his civilian chain of command.

If the president allows this act of insubordination to pass he will show weakness as CIC. Plus, If the shoe were on the other foot and a McChrystal subordinate made similar comments to a reporter that subordinate would probably be called before a commander and immediately given at least an Article 15, especially if the act occurred in a hostile environment. Insubordination is not tolerated in the US armed forces under any circumstances. Insubordination in a hostile environment is usually punishable by courts martial.

Gen McChrystal has been given everything he has asked for to fight this war in Afghanistan. Yet he still complains that the war effort is going badly. The war in Afghanistan is his responsibility, and he appears to be failing in his primary duties while blaming others.

However, perhaps McChrystal's most egregious act occurred when he unsuccessfully tried to cover up the facts surrounding the death of Specialist Pat Tillman, glorifying Tillman as a heroic Ranger who died leading his unit in a firefight against the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2004. First of all, a "specialist" usually leads no one anywhere. Finally, No one is irreplaceable in the military during a time of war. Ask Generals George B. McClellan and Douglas MacArthur.

[wonketteRAWKS]

01:10 PM on 06/23/2010

Tried to do a google search on Boothby and there is not a whole lot of info on him. Hmmm?

[Dingoangst]

01:02 PM on 06/23/2010

McChrystal and his toadies are not smart enough to run a boy scout campout, much less a war. Fire them all. McChrystal surrounded himself with yes-men and drunks, he should be drummed out of the army, no retirement. I shouldn't have to pay this fool a dime of my tax money.

[Janetshusb]

12:18 PM on 06/23/2010

From Wikipedia: A court-martial (plural courts-martial, as "martial" is postpositive) is a military court. These military courts can determine punishments for members of the military subject to military law who are found guilty or may dismiss the charges based on the evidence and the case presented.

[thenextquagmire]

12:13 PM on 06/23/2010

Looks like the NeoCons have their dynamic duo for now. When control freaks who want so much "to be" are loosing it, they live even more vicariously. She's a typical neocon supremacist and he's a grandstander.

[UnaBohemia]

11:59 AM on 06/23/2010

So this Media Aide is supposed to be McChrystal's babysitter as well? That's crazy!

This Media Aide should be rewarded and recognized for giving us a center and front row view of McChrystal's poor judgement- and with a budget of BILLIONS of dollars.... clearly not the right man for the job.

[vesaversa1]

11:55 AM on 06/23/2010

This was blatant disrespect to the Commandeer n Chief and the greatest arm forces on this this planet . Heads should roll ,If the pentagon dosen't court marshal McChrystal then the next best thing would be to court marshal his aids who also insubordinate .

The Right Winger's who claim to believe in the rule of law when it come to everything else in this country should support a court marshal for everyone involve from the top down .
Article 88 military code of conduct :

[Jannsmoor]

11:41 AM on 06/23/2010

So let's examine this. McChrystal and his aides bad mouth not only the President but almost all civilian leadership they come in contact with.
Who is the first to lose their job?
The press aid.
NOT the people who are actually doing something wrong. The guy who arranged for the reporter.
Does this smack of shooting the messenger to anyone other than me?

[ThePrisoner]

10:53 AM on 06/23/2010

Hastings is a free lance writer. I'm curious to know if he portrayed this as an article he would try to sell or if it was always going to be a Rolling Stone article. Not that it matters much - still pretty stupid comments by the general and his staff.

[vesaversa1]

11:43 AM on 06/23/2010

I hope your not using Faux news propaganda spin in trying to blame this on the writer of this article ,Hasting . Not when it was McChrystal idea to sit down with him for a hold month in giving this interview .

[ThePrisoner]

12:27 PM on 06/23/2010

No. Not at all. I'm just wondering if he and his staff were stupid enough to blab away at a freelancer who happened to sell his piece to Rolling Stone or, as some are saying, wanting to look cool to the Rolling Stone reporter. Either way, it was good reporting by Hastings and a great scoop by Rolling Stone.

[Commonwealth]

10:30 AM on 06/23/2010

This is being portrayed as a typical military snafu ("situation normal all fouled [sic] up") with Boothby "stepping down" because of his foolishly arranging for the Rolling Stone reporter to interview McChrystal. But this would never have happened if McChrystal did not have an agenda of some sort that he wanted to pursue by means of publicity. Is it possible that McChrystal was so taken in by self-assuredness that he could not conceive that the Rolling Stone article could be critical of him? Yes. But that would have been McChrystal's bad judgement, not Boothby's.

[H321]

10:09 AM on 06/23/2010

I mean, maybe McChrystal kept a kind of "all boys" club where they chill drinking Bug Light Lime and think it'd be cool to talk with Rolling Stone Magazine like they're all buddy-buddy or something. Its hard to fathom what was going through their minds when they decided to become so candid and seriously throw doubt and undermine the very mission McChrystal was literally begging to lead.

[Janetshusb]

11:15 AM on 06/23/2010

If McChrystal can't show good judgement, leadership, respect and control of his aides during a magazine interview how can the President depend on him to to lead a very difficult and diplomatically delicate military mission. He comes across in the Rolling Stone article as egotistical, stubborn, petty, sneering and uncooperative. I think we have more competent generals than this.

[Sundialsvc4]

09:53 AM on 06/23/2010

There is a -war- in progress here.

No one should make any moves until the senior Commanders, who are meeting face-to-face today, have chosen what to do. A resignation, even of a media person, is decidedly premature.

The comment, "our efforts in Afghanistan are larger than one person," can be interpreted with several meanings but it is nevertheless true.

[ladydragon]

09:40 AM on 06/23/2010

Boothby RUN! run far! run fast! in the military there is a saying: "S*&%t rolls down hill! Run! save yourself because you will be blamed somhow even though it was his lips moving