"The entire COIN strategy is a fraud perpetuated on the American people," says Douglas Macgregor, a retired colonel and leading critic of counterinsurgency who attended West Point with McChrystal. "The idea that we are going to spend a trillion dollars to reshape the culture of the Islamic world is utter nonsense.
Macgregor was a classmate of McChrystal at West Point.
...he has upped the number of Special Forces units in Afghanistan from four to 19. "You better be out there hitting four or five targets tonight," McChrystal will tell a Navy Seal he sees in the hallway at headquarters. Then he'll add, "I'm going to have to scold you in the morning for it, though." In fact, the general frequently finds himself apologizing for the disastrous consequences of counterinsurgency....
In the first four months of this year, NATO forces killed some 90 civilians, up 76 percent from the same period in 2009 – a record that has created tremendous resentment among the very population that COIN theory is intent on winning over. In February, a Special Forces night raid ended in the deaths of two pregnant Afghan women and allegations of a cover-up, and in April, protests erupted in Kandahar after U.S. forces accidentally shot up a bus, killing five Afghans. "We've shot an amazing number of people," McChrystal recently conceded.
The worrisome issue surrounding the desire of General McChrystal to retire is that is has promulgated more 'justification' for occupying Afghanistan. I am not so sure considering the maneuvering that he wasn't simply a political scapegoat either.
Ninty civilians are significant, but is it moral to ask soldiers to die for a misinterpretation of the 'unknown,' a guess.
The Defense Department has re-emphasized, and rightly so, the 'proper' methods of interacting with the media. Secretary Gates has stated under his service he has witnessed many good soldiers and officers leaving the military because of media contact.
There is much on the line. Staying in Afghansitan for the Right Wing is about their 'idea' of advancing democracy and not really about National Security. They believe in Nation Building. Afghanistan stands to be a 're-engagement' of war if there were a return of a Republican to the Executive Branch.
It is far too dangerous to a 'global peace' and 'stability' to stay in Afghanistan and indulge the corrupt nature of the government.
I believe General McChrystal served in every way he was asked and knew that being 'the good soldier' wasn't truly possible in 'the real world,' but, being an effective one was.
I sincerely like General McChrystal. The entire mess is unfortunate, but, also very dangerous.
COIN is a 'dreamscape' of a failed President. We need to rethink the entire idea.
The ouster of Gen. Stanley McChrystal in favor of Gen. David Petraeus this week had the intended effect of a reset button on the war in Afghanistan, at least inside the Beltway. Outside of Washington, it appears to have focused attention on the perilous state of the war, and the confusing nature of the mission. In the latest poll on the war, approval on the war is nearing a low ebb, and a large plurality believes the US is losing. Withdrawal was not polled by Newsweek, but I’d expect at least a plurality in favor.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/06/27/the-next-washington-bait-and-switch-remove-the-afghanistan-deadline/
