General McChrystal's Resignation

Yesterday morning, General Stanley McChrystal, one of our nation’s best leaders, a dedicated and proven special operations soldier, tendered his resignation as commander of the Afghanistan war to President Obama. The precipitating issue was an article in Rolling Stone magazine which described and quoted the General and several members of his staff during informal, off-duty, bull sessions - gatherings of the inner circle where everyone let their hair down and relaxed.

The political, media, and academic frenzy which followed the Rolling Stone article was front-page news. Inside sources say the White house was hysterical.

All of this furor resulted from a sadly typical civilian misunderstanding of the warrior mindset. Off-duty soldiers will always grouse and bitch about their leaders, especially in a bull session. Nonetheless, the next morning, on duty, they will faithfully move heaven and earth and even sacrifice their own lives to follow lawful orders and complete their mission, EVEN IF THEY DISAGREE WITH THE MISSION ITSELF AND THOSE WHO ISSUED THE ORDERS. This notion does not compute to anyone who has not experienced the level of commitment and sense of duty that pervades today's American military.

That understood, let’s consider the present case. Many colleagues who actually know General McChrystal have commented that the General and his staff are way too bright and disciplined to have "inadvertently" spoken in front of a Rolling Stone reporter - it's Rolling Stone, for heaven's sake. I suspect the General was just sick and tired of fighting the war on three fronts: the Taliban, President Karzai, and the State Department.

American military officers, including General McChrystal, totally understand and agree with the cherished US system of civilian control over the military. But the General grew increasingly frustrated by the refusal of his civilian leadership to pay attention to their front line commanders, thus imperiling the outcome of the war. General McChrystal’s duty to his mission, and his oath to follow the lawful orders of his superiors, became increasingly in conflict. So, being the resourceful leader that he is, he found a clever and innovative way to resolve his dilemma.

Since the first Gulf War, in exchange for complete access to the military in combat, the responsible press and media have tacitly agreed not to report casual off-duty remarks or conversations. But General McChrystal invited not just any reporter, but one from Rolling Stone, an openly hostile magazine, into his inner circle. I believe the General knew full well that the Rolling Stone reporter was unlikely to honor the tacit agreement, that Rolling Stone would report everything said in those off-duty, informal conversations, that the resulting article would end the General’s career, and that the article would force a reluctant political hierarchy to face and deal with the unpleasant realities of the war. General McChrystal fell on his sword – he sacrificed his own career in order to be faithful to both his oath and his duty.

We are indeed blessed to have men of General McChrystal’s character leading our soldiers in combat. He is a man to be admired – a man of honor.