Obama replaces McChrystal with Petraeus

[bobbyw24]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A source tells The Associated Press that President Barack Obama will name Gen. David Petraeus to succeed Gen. Stanley McChrystal as top war commander in Afghanistan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100623/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_mcchrystal

[Bruno]

beat me to it!

how is the left going to respond to Petraeus as the replacement?

[someperson]

This "controversy" is great; it has compelled the silent media to report on "our" back page wars, once again.

[specsaregood]

beat me to it!

how is the left going to respond to Petraeus as the replacement?

I dont know, but I'm sure laughing at them now.
LOL. Remember this little ad from moveon?
http://lh4.ggpht.com/ivan1087/RuXapZ21gnI/AAAAAAAAAgI/baPlvVvWkqw/General+Betray+Us.jpg

[Krugerrand]

beat me to it!

how is the left going to respond to Petraeus as the replacement?

ignore it, just like they ignore every other so called principle they 'care' about.

[Kotin]

This oughta be good..

[someperson]

I'd love to see that reprinted in a newspaper, with the MoveOn logo "poorly" scratched out ;)

[Bruno]

ignore it, just like they ignore every other so called principle they 'care' about.

most likely

[MelissaWV]

That's kind of funny, because in Obama's remarks he said he "hated to lose" McChrystal. I love how we're supposed to pretend that he randomly resigned, from those remarks.

[dannno]

bwahahhahahahah....

I just emailed moveon.org...

Subject: Hahahahahahhaahhahahh..


McChrystal out; Petraeus picked for Afghanistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100623/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_mcchrystal


Obamabots...


I tried to tell you Obama was a warhawk and we needed Ron Paul.. but nooooooooooooooooo....

[silus]

General Petraeus is already the commander of the entire Middle East area. Its like a governor replacing a mayor.

[TheState]

It's a good way for Obama to get Patraeus stuck in a quagmire so he can't run for president.

[specsaregood]

bwahahhahahahah....
I just emailed moveon.org...
Subject: Hahahahahahhaahhahahh..
McChrystal out; Petraeus picked for Afghanistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100623/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_mcchrystal
Obamabots...
I tried to tell you Obama was a warhawk and we needed Ron Paul.. but nooooooooooooooooo....

So I guess we can chalk this one up as another "Ron Paul was right"?
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Ron_Paul_will_not_support_John_0828.html


Chetry asked Paul, "Do you think it's a valid argument ... that a John McCain administration would be a four-year extension of the Bush administration?"

"Sure, but I think that's what's going to happen with Obama, too," Paul replied. "There's no difference."

"Their foreign policies are identical," Paul explained. "They want more troops in Afghanistan. They want to send more support to Georgia to protect the oil line there. Neither one says bring home the troops from Iraq from the bases -- you know the bases are going to stay there, the embassy as big as the Vatican, that's going to remain. So their foreign policies are exactly the same. They're both very, very aggressive with Iran. So I would say there's no difference."

[Che]

so Petraeus is the commander of afghanistan and iraq?

[MelissaWV]

so Petraeus is the commander of afghanistan and iraq?

He's pretty much the Commander-In-Chief.

[TinCanToNA]

so Petraeus is the commander of afghanistan and iraq?
Was, yes. Now...

If you really want to know, look up the term CENTCOM and do your homework. That is Gen. Patraeus' command.

[Philhelm]

He's pretty much the Commander-In-Chief.

At the very least, it's clear that President Obama is not the Commander-in-Chief, other than in name only. Aside from Obama's policies, he's simply a poor leader.

[Aratus]

barack obama has read biographies about harry s. truman, FDR and abe lincoln. why is it we seem retro~backstepped
to 1968 as in viet-nam & LBJ as we debate Tet before and after? well long after the passing of sec. robert mcnamara...

[moostraks]

Was, yes. Now...

If you really want to know, look up the term CENTCOM and do your homework. That is Gen. Patraeus' command.

Found this:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/06/general-petraeuss-secret-weapon/58605/

"General David Petraeus will step down as the chief of CENTCOM, where he oversees all military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to replace General Stanley McChrystal in leading the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. It's unclear if this will bring many changes to the Afghan strategy, which Petraeus was already overseeing from CENTCOM."

Does this amount to a demotion?

I was completely surprised at this choice because it really lands the idea that Obama is the third Bush term squarely upon the shoulders of the anti-war crowd that believed Obama's change rhetoric and voted for him.

[idirtify]

This "controversy" is great; it has compelled the silent media to report on "our" back page wars, once again.

Agreed. This is great! There’s lots of questioning the American strategy in Afghanistan right now on CNN. And take notice that no one is really disputing the content of the general’s claims in RS; they are only objecting to his actions on procedural grounds; ie, “it’s disrespectful”, “it’s just not done”, “generals don’t criticize presidents”.

[NewFederalist]

Does this amount to a demotion?
In one sense... yes. But since he is now seen as the man who "got the job done in Iraq" this is his shot to reprise that "success" in Afganistan. If he can show some short term gains he might end up as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff which is the ultimate goal for any flag officer.

[angelatc]

bwahahhahahahah.... I just emailed moveon.org...

Subject: Hahahahahahhaahhahahh..
McChrystal out; Petraeus picked for Afghanistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100623/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_mcchrystal
Obamabots... I tried to tell you Obama was a warhawk and we needed Ron Paul.. but nooooooooooooooooo....

MoveOn.org to Dannno: "Never happened. (http://weaselzippers.us/2010/06/23/moveon-scrubs-general-betray-us-page-from-website/)"

[rich34]

Didn't Gen. Patraeus recently have a seizure at a house/senate hearing? Maybe this ain't the best thing for Patraeus health wise?

[TinCanToNA]

Found this:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/06/general-petraeuss-secret-weapon/58605/

"General David Petraeus will step down as the chief of CENTCOM, where he oversees all military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to replace General Stanley McChrystal in leading the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. It's unclear if this will bring many changes to the Afghan strategy, which Petraeus was already overseeing from CENTCOM."

Does this amount to a demotion?

I was completely surprised at this choice because it really lands the idea that Obama is the third Bush term squarely upon the shoulders of the anti-war crowd that believed Obama's change rhetoric and voted for him.

There is a lot of confusion over this issue because the article in the original post is from AP and is clearly not using terms that are translatable into the military structure.

As to whether it is a demotion or not, that is not necessarily the case. Certainly he will retain his rank, and essentially all four-star commands are of equal 'rank' except for the top posts (Commandant of the Marine Corp, Chief of Naval Operations, etc.), their executive assistants (Vice Chief of Naval Operations, etc.), and the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a way, this could be seen as a promotion for Gen. Petraeus because the job he is now heading is the one with the highest profile of any in the military at the moment, even if others technically have positional or logistical authority over him.

As for further clarification, CENTCOM is in charge of the geographic region and organization of military units within that organization. It is what you might call an administrative type of organization, whereas ISAFA (International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan) is the "war" force, or occupying force, or whatever you wish to call it. It falls under CENTCOM's geographic 'jurisdiction,' but ISAFA is a different beast. If you want to get truly technical, ISAF is not even American, but a NATO organization.

[Chieppa1]

So my take:

McChrystal was slowly becoming less and less happy with the occupation, no-win policy in Afganistan. So the military-money makers wanted someone in there that would be okay with dragging their gold-mine out for another couple years, since Petraeus has his own ego and will want to put his stamp on the war.