How Will Obama Handle His "Runaway General"?

With the feeding frenzy being generated by the media, President Obama may have to fire Gen. McChrystal. But nothing about this dispute will contribute to winning the war in Afghanistan.

It has the feel of a top general about to be fired.

With the feeding frenzy being generated via the media, it’s likely President Barack Obama may have to fire Gen. Stanley McChrystal as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for critical quotes attributed to him and his staff in Rolling Stone magazine.

The meeting in the White House today between McChrystal and his “Commander-in-Chief” will be tense and unpleasant. It doesn’t take much imagination to know how U.S. troops in Afghanistan and elsewhere will feel about McChrystal being summoned on the carpet for views that most of them agree with.

Despite McChrystal’s “apology” for the Rolling Stone article, in which he spoke bluntly but not inaccurately (or off the record), it’s hard to see him not resigning if Obama doesn’t fire him.

The real cause for Obama’s displeasure with his top general, is because the “surge” in Afghanistan is not going as well as Obama hoped. Gen. McChrystal has also voiced frustration that the “war” is not proceeding as effectively as he wished.

Overlooked in all this, is that Obama appointed McChrystal to the job before he even knew him. He took the advice of others who did know him. And Obama fired Gen. David McKiernan, the former commander in Afghanistan – the first such dismissal of a top soldier since President Harry Truman firedGen. Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War.

Ironic if that fate awaits McChrystal.

Truman had to fire MacArthur for repeated insubordination – and because he wanted to use the atomic bomb on China. McChrystal’s error is straight talk, not trying to usurp the president’s role.

McChrystal seems the very antithesis of Obama. Where McChrystal is outspoken, direct, doesn’t tolerate fools gladly, and is one hell of a soldier who leads by example and prefers deeds to words, Obama is more a talker who makes statements and promises without necessarily fulfilling them.

For five years, McChrystal headed the Pentagon’s Black Operations in Iraq, with considerable success and very little publicity. We still don’t know.

Everything that Obama has touched, so far seems to have come apart. He’s fought with bankers and Wall Street, he fired the boss of General Motors, he wanted the president of BP fired before he met him, he’s at virtual “war” with Arizona over that state’s attempt to defend its sovereignty by identifying border crossers from Mexico, he’s fighting with insurance companies over his health plan, he’s run up the country’s debt, is about to raise taxes, and is now feuding with the military.

Not a good sign for the future.

Gen. McChrystal’s alleged criticism in Rolling Stone would be innocuous to disarming under ordinary circumstances. Obama probably was “uncomfortable and intimidated” when he first met McChrystal and a bevy of military people in the White House.

After all, Obama isn’t used to soldiers; and generals and their medal ribbons are intimidating to some civilians.

McChrystal has a point too. Although Obama went along with McChrystal’s “surge” plans in Afghanistan, he took weeks of meditating and consulting before he agreed – and then agreed by only 75%.

McChrystal originally said he needed 40,000 additional troops to win the war by mid 2011, so Obama authorized only 30,000 more troops. Today McChrystal says there are enough soldiers. So the president seems to be dragging his feet.

Obama is pretty quick to accord blame – and unless there’s no convenient alternative to McChrystal in command, Obama may be stuck with him. Certainly, those who know him, think McChrystal is the best commander for the job.

Regardless of how today’s meeting turns out, the vultures are gathering. It’s pretty hard to see how the outcome can be positive, unless one – or both - of the proud men back down, which neither of them has a record of doing.

And none of this dispute contributes to winning the war in Afghanistan.