The article in The Rolling Stone (at title to entry - thank you) clearly showed a man in control of his command. A soldiers' general.
Stanley McChrystal was fully engaged in his responsibilities and the fact he ate only one meal a day was not a form of 'jazz' it was a lifestyle that enforced the commitment he had made to his own form of discipline.
He was more than successful. He had dedicated staff that loved the commitment to him and the outcome they felt they were pursuing according to every rule on the book. The issue with McChrystal was not the war strategy, it was the power of the position he was in vs. the power of the President. I believe General McChrystal was enough of a 'tactician' in his career to run 'the gambit' around any obstical that would bring about failure vs success. He was focused. The problem was that a new reality of what Afghanistan had transformed into during the Bush White House was emerging and his ability to maneuver the objections to the war 'at home' became as much a hurdle as the counter insurgency effort itself.
As a result, the PR he was hoping to reverberate through the country to win support turned into a betrayal of his President due to 'staff insubordination' trusted to bring insight regarding the General and his dedication. The time in Paris, where they were enjoying the 'time off' and he stated, "They would die for and I would die for them," revealed a man slightly embarrassed by the unmilitary behavior of his staff on downtime, but, also showed how removed he was from the information the journalist was already accumulating that would betray the trust the General was placing in him and his writing.
For as much as Rolling Stone revealed that lead to a General's resignation from the military, it also cost lives in Afghanistan and a febble attempt at resurgence by The Taliban.
Stanley McChrystal was successful in deploying COIN. It was working and the failed attempts following his departure only goes to prove that Afghanistan is further along on its road to successful national security than anyone is willing to admit.
Why they won't admit that is a good question, it probably boils down to issues of 'abandonment' and 'money.' But, the Poppy Kingdom has to go and the indulgence of that form of agriculture was mostly incorrect and corrupting to the people. Afghanistan is ready for a stiffer backbone.
