THE ASSAULT ON McCHRYSTAL - AT 5:54 P.M. ET: The Washington campaign against our Afghanistan commander, General Stanley McChrystal, escalated today with a thinly veiled slap by the secretary of defense, as The New York Times reports:

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates appeared to subtly rebuke America’s top commander in Afghanistan on Monday for publicly speaking out against calls for scaling back the war effort there.

“I believe the decisions that the president will make for the next stage of the Afghanistan campaign will be among the most important of his presidency, so it is important that we take our time to do all we can to get this right,” Mr. Gates said at a gathering here.

“And in this process,” Mr. Gates went on, “it is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations — civilians and military alike — provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately.”

COMMENT:  Please note that no one has publicly rebuked those from the White House who leaked disparaging comments about McChrystal last week. 

Gates's comments come a day after National Security Advisor James Jones made similar remarks.  Together with the disparaging leaks about General McChrystal, they have eroded the general's authority, and must be having a devastating effect on troop morale.

There was also an article by leftist Yale Law School Professor Bruce Ackerman, accusing McChrystal of stepping over a Constitutional line.  One had the sense - and I stress that this is my own speculation - that the article was generated by the Obamans.

The administration's behavior is disgraceful.  Frankly, McChrystal should consider resigning, and saving himself from the humiliation dished out by this regime.  He is being set up to be scapegoated, and should realize it.  I suspect the White House fears he will resign, and is trying to diminish his reputation beforehand.

Despite sloppy journalistic comparisons, McChrystal's public defense of his known positions comes nowhere near the behavior of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's antics during the Korean War, which got MacArthur fired.  MacArthur was sending letters to Speaker of the House Joe Martin, dissenting from President Truman's military policies.  The general's insubordination was clear, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff backed his being relieved of his command.

October 5, 2009