Sincerely Amanda

Often it isn’t what happens, but what gets talked about that makes all the difference.

When President Obama commented on General Stanley McChrystal, the greatest impression made on me was the source Obama cited as specific rationale for his approval of McChrystal’s resignation:

“The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that’s necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan.”

Conduct represented in the recently published article? The six-page Rolling Stone article by Michael Hastings is titled “The Runaway General,” and it reads more like an off-the-record entertainment piece than a chilling exposé. Coming from a military family, I understand the importance of soldiers respecting the Commander-in-Chief and avoiding entanglement in distracting political divisiveness. Order and unity is important in the armed forces, especially during wartime.

But despite the mucky language said around and about McChrystal himself, whatever he actually did that threatened civilian control of our military some how evades the recently published article that was supposed to make that point. Ironically, when McChrystal had his chance to impact civilian control through his citizen power to vote, he chose Barack Obama to be Commander-in-Chief.

Ah, but a record of the conduct isn’t strictly what matters. It is how the conduct was represented that makes all the difference: Stan McChrystal, the Runaway General who “has seized control of the war by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House.” Need more be convicting than the headline?

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