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Posts Tagged ‘mcchrystal’

McChrystal Flap Shows Power of Civilian Control Over The Military

24 Jun

It is interesting that Afghan President Karzai wanted General Stanley McChrystal to stayas the Western commander in Afghanistan, and Karzai apparently found it not unusual for a military commander to publicly criticize his civilian bosses.  Considering that Karzai is from a part of the world where the military often calls the shots or at least threatens to override civilian control (see Pakistan, Turkey, and most of the Middle East), it may be  a good lesson to Karzai and his regional counterparts in how a democracy is supposed to work.  McChrystal is may very well be right in his comments about President Obama’s national security team members, but it is a severe breach of established protocol between a subservient military and the elected leadership of a democratic country.  Right or wrong, the general should have kept his mouth shut.  And why was he giving so much access to a reporter anyway?  Bad judgement all around!