Was President Barack Obama right to accept the resignation of
Gen. Stanley McChrystal in light of the general’s comments to
Rolling Stone magazine?
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:
“Was President Barack Obama right to accept the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal in light of the general’s comments to Rolling Stone magazine?” Yes: 12 No: 0
? Karen Anderson: “Yes. The military is very clear on what it requires in terms of respect for the officer above you. Serious poor judgment.”
? Bert Berson: “Yes. He did it with class. Petraeus is the best replacement choice.”
? Chris Bryant: “Yes, not much else he could do as today’s military is totally driven by civilian politics. This just underscores the need to keep personal feelings separated when communicating with the public. This same issue arises in business all too often.”
? David Cohen: “Absolutely. The military operates under a strict line of command and the general violated that. The president was correct in relieving him of the command.”
? Dennis Kennedy: “Yes! General McChrystal’s comments are divisive, violate the chain of command and are not becoming of a General Officer.”
? Julian Mancias: “Yes. First, the criticism’s were not isolated to the Rolling Stone article, but have been ongoing. Secondly, McChrystal’s staff has also made derisive comments.”
? Linda McNulty: “Yes he violated military protocol.”
? Henry Miller: “Absolutely. Insubordination is inexcusable and unforgivable in the military. And Gen. Stanley McChrystal was insubordinate.”
? Lisa Pampuch: “Yes. Obama accepted McChrystal’s resignation for all the right reasons – namely, that McChrystal’s conduct ‘does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general’ and ‘complicates the vital mission’ in Afghanistan.”
? Emily Shem-Tov: “Yes, having that kind of in-fighting and public criticism was not at all helpful to their already daunting tasks there.”
? Jeff Smith: “General McChrystal showed very poor judgment by even talking to a Rolling Stones reporter (and even worse judgment by letting him hang around for two weeks), so even though the things he said were probably true, getting fired/resigning was inevitable.”
? Steve Staloch: “Yes. The term ‘poor judgment,’ when referring to the commander of a war theatre and used by the president and McChrystal himself, are pretty much the same as ‘you’re fired.'”
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