McChrystal doesn't think much of Obama--who can blame him?

http://tinyurl.com/2f7unx7
Excerpts from a Rolling Stone magazine profile on Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, set to appear Friday:
...McChrystal and his new commander-in-chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. 'It was a 10-minute photo-op,' says an adviser to McChrystal. 'Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his f-ing war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed.'" ****Hmm. The President seemed disengaged. Any parallel with the Gulf crisis? EVERYTHING else?**** – "Last fall, during a question-and-answer session following a speech he gave in London, McChrystal dismissed the counterterrorism strategy being advocated by Vice President Joe Biden as 'shortsighted,' saying it would lead to a state of 'Chaos-istan,' The remarks earned him a smackdown from the president himself, who summoned the general to a terse private meeting aboard Air Force Once. The message to McChrystal seemed clear: Shut the f- up, and keep a lower profile....– "In private, Team McChrystal likes to talk s- about many of Obama's top people on the diplomatic side. One aide calls Jim Jones, a retired four-star general and veteran of the Cold War, a 'clown' who remains 'stuck in 1985.' Politicians like (John) McCain and (John) Kerry, says another aide, 'turn up, have a meeting with (Afghan president Hamid) Karzai, criticize him at the airport press conference, then get back for the Sunday talk shows. Frankly, it's not very helpful.' ...// ****Uh oh. The President might not be deep but he is thin-skinned.****

http://tinyurl.com/2dd3y8c
White House summons US general to explain himself By ANNE GEARAN and JULIE PACE, AP National Security Writers
WASHINGTON – The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has been summoned to Washington to explain derogatory comments about President Barack Obama and his colleagues, administration officials said Tuesday. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who publicly apologized Tuesday for using "poor judgment" in an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, has been ordered to attend the monthly White House meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person Wednesday rather than over a secure video teleconference, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. He'll be expected to explain his comments to Obama and top Pentagon officials, these officials said. Obama has the authority to fire McChrystal... ****Obama is decisive only when personally attacked. He gave McC only 30K of the 40K personnel requested, took months to make the decision ( and made a hedged decision, even then, probably polling public reaction before committing) and combined the actual surge with a promise to start withdrawal almost immediately. This last is a promise so stupid that Secretary Gates has basically said there will be only nominal, lip-service adherence to this, with the actual drawdown depending on the field generals' decisions.****
****The issue, "Will McChrystal be fired?" seems answered all around in the affirmative. "Obama needs an opportunity to look decisive." Having said that, it might be that Obama will be afraid to fire McC. First, he is a very good general and probably the best man available for this particular job. Obama might have someone on his staff point out the following: If McC is retained, he will be under the thumb of military codes of conduct and is likely to be especially deferential to the White House in the years ahead. If, however, McC is fired it just might result in his taking retirement, freeing him up to write a book or be interviewed candidly on his opinions. Since he obviously thinks Obama and the people around him are boobs, he is likely to state his case for this once safely in private life but will keep his mouth shut as an active-duty officer.***