Fire McChrystal?

Read this story in Rolling Stone and tell me whether you think President Barack Obama should fire Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

The president already ordered the general to the White House to explain.
Read the piece carefully. I can’t find many direct quotes from McChrystal about the president, only quotes from aides or sources close to him. One of his assistants already resigned because of this.
But this does present Obama with a challenge not unlike the one President Truman faced with Gen. Douglas MacArthur. If Obama fires him, it would be an unpopular move. McChrystal is a good, tough general. If he doesn’t fire him, he will look weak.
Consider, too, that McChrystal is trying to fight a war under difficult conditions, including a deadline the president has imposed to pull out by July 2011.
What should he do?
Me? I would fire him. We have a civilian government and generals have to be loyal to the commander, especially during war-time. Even if McChrystal wasn’t directly quoted, I’m sure the magazine characterized his feelings correctly.

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About the Author

Jay Evensen

Jay Evensen is the Associate Editor of the Deseret News editorial page. He has 30 years of journalism experience covering politics and a variety of other assignments at news organizations ranging from United Press International in New York City to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Deseret News, where he has worked for 26 years. During that time, he has won numerous local, regional and national awards. Most recently, he was given the Cameron Duncan Media Award, given annually in Washington, D.C., by the advocacy group RESULTS, to the journalist judged to have done the most to further the cause of the world's poorest people.

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