U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (right) walks on the tarmac with U.S. Army General David McKiernan, Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, (left) at Kabul airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 6, just a few days before Gates fired McKiernan. (Photograph by Jason Reed-Pool/Getty Images)From Popular Mechanics:
Military drama usually ensues when the president of the United States sacks a four-star general during a military campaign. In the midst of a hard-to-define war like the one the United States is fighting in Afghanistan, such a move often precedes a pivotal change in strategy. But why was Gen. David McKiernan fired, and what will new military leadership mean for U.S. efforts? PM reporter Joe Pappalardo, just back from reporting in Afghanistan, answers fundamental questions about what the U.S. and NATO want to accomplish in Afghanistan, and how McKiernan was influencing the effort.
Read more ....
My Comment: The always excellent Small Wars Journal has compiled a small list of bloggers and their opinions on the impact of this leadership change. The link to see all of these posts is HERE.
As to what is my opinion .... I will have to say that this is a dramatic change.
One .... the last time a General was fired (who was in command of a theater of combat) .... was General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War (he was fired by President Truman). Two .... the selection of General McChrystal tells me that the gloves are now being taken off. General McChrystal was the hammer that killed Al Qaeda and Baathist leaders in Iraq, as well as capturing Saddam Hussein. I am sure that he is now being mandated to do the same thing in Afghanistan.
Will this all work out in the end .... I honestly do not know. Afghanistan is one big bottomless pit that has always doomed foreigners who made the decision to get involved. The only foreigner who was successful in subduing this part of the world was Genghis Khan .... and he subdued the Afghans by massacring all of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment