General Stanley McChrystal: Why? Why? Why?

General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A), described in several news accounts as being a fearless if not hedonis snake eater, did not cut-off-his-nose-to-spite-his-face. Rather, what he did (and I believe I understand why the  pundits offering sycophantic explanations about his aggressive posturing missed this occurring faux pas) was  moon the administration and he did it because …

… he knew he was losing the war – and perhaps knew that something fatally bigger was up* – and he and his staff targeted the civilian leaders believed responsible for the policy leading to that inevitability. So, he chose the most contemptible insult that he could imagine – straight out of the Frat Boy Manual for Macho Males – so that Obama had only one choice: Kiss his ass, or kick it.

* Revealed in this snippet from the New York Times:

Washington has watched with some nervousness as General Kayani and Pakistan’s spy chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, shuttle between Islamabad and Kabul, telling Mr. Karzai that they agree with his assessment that the United States cannot win in Afghanistan, and that a postwar Afghanistan should incorporate the Haqqani network, a longtime Pakistani asset. In a sign of the shift in momentum, the two Pakistani officials were next scheduled to visit Kabul on Monday, according to Afghan TV. — Friday June 25, 2010, Pakistan Is Said to Pursue a Foothold in Afghanistan.

Additional reading:
Army Times
Stars and Stripes

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