John Brennan, Sekhmet And The Fires Of War 
WATCH: Reporter Shares New Reason For Obama's Epic Debate Fail 
'I Didn't Finish The Job' 
McChrystal: 'Serious Action' Necessary On Guns 
Retired General Cautions Against Overuse Of 'Hated' Drones
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Say it on the Huffington Post
Militarizing the presidency obviously undermines the principle of civilian control, which the McChrystal kerfuffle brought to the forefront.
Petraeus's declaration that he wasn't putting much stock in the president's intending to hold the military command accountable for its failure in Afghanistan earned him an instant rebuke. Now, that same Petraeus is in charge.
In light of the recent firing/resigning of General McChrystal, the U.S. should take up the reconsidering of our unadulterated trust in Generals.
Gallup 6/25-26/10; 1,044 adults, 4% margin of error Mode: Automated phone (Gallup release) Update: Obama on Afghanistan National Obama Handling of A...
This year alone, American taxpayers will spend $100 billion on our involvement in Afghanistan -- roughly five times more than Afghanistan's GDP. Yet this is a conflict which still has no clear definition of success.
In his 2005 suicide note, Army colonel and ethicist named Ted Westhusing mentioned "commanders only interested in themselves." One of those commanders was David Petraeus.
Gratitude is a dying virtue in American society. We continue to live free only because of our brave military, yet most Americans offer empty words of support to our troops that are rarely backed by tangible action.
The real question raised by Michael Hastings' Rolling Stone piece is this: where were the beat reporters covering McCrystal's HQ? If the general and his merry men conducted themselves so unprofessionally, why hadn't the press reported it earlier?
Here's a loose-lipped playlist for Stan the Man, a dude with a big ego and a very mixed record who finally accomplished the impossible -- actually stealing some of the cultural spotlight away from Lady GaGa.
A rolling stone gathers no moss, and this week a loose-tongued General got steamrolled by a paper one. President Obama did the right thing in canning McChrystal. But his appointment of David Petraeus bodes very badly for the July 2011 withdrawal start date. Last week, Petraeus hinted as much, telling Congress he would recommend delaying the withdrawal if conditions in Afghanistan didn't improve (and is there anyone left who thinks they will?). Petraeus Ex Machina got the president's backing: "We didn't say we'd be switching off the lights and closing the door behind us," the commander-in-chief told the nation. Something tells me that Obama - McChrystal + Petraeus = upping the ante in Afghanistan. We need to change the equation.
Michael Hastings has done us a great service. Thanks to his reporting in Rolling Stone, the architect of a failed, vicious war policy is out the door, and Americans are paying attention.
Obama did the right thing this week in firing McChrystal. Unfortunately, the other decisions the President faces regarding Afghanistan are not as easy. It is difficult to get out of Afghanistan today, but it will be more difficult to get out tomorrow.
Of the many questions surrounding the sudden career implosion of General Stanley McChrystal, the one to which no one has yet been able to offer a satisfactory answer is, Why?
We're going to begin today with the news that a popular New Jersey beach is considering allowing women to sunbathe topless. And then move right on to...
General McChrystal was ultimately done in by his lack of discretion, but the war effort in Afghanistan will eventually be a failure because of the over-reliance and misapplication of COIN.
The Rolling Stone correspondent was stuck in Paris. Embedded there, he hung around with talkative drinkers. They revealed stuff while forgetting it was being told to a reporter.
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