Did Obama do the right thing in firing General McChrystal?
KK: Yes. McChrystal, until now, was the Teflon general. As Rolling Stone reported, McChrystal in 2004 signed off on a falsified report about Army Ranger Pat Tillman’s killing by enemy fire. He allegedly ignored detainee abuse and torture at a detention facility under his command in Iraq. Last summer he leaked a report to the press warning of “mission failure” unless 40,000 additional troops were sent to Afghanistan. This time President Obama had no choice but to hold McChrystal accountable for his actions. QA: What does this change in command signify for our Afghan policy? KK: Replacing McChrystal with General Petraeus is not going to make any difference on the ground. The counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan will remain essentially the same. General Petraeus developed the strategy and implemented it in Iraq, where, according to the Obama administration, the “mission is accomplished.” The analogy with Iraq is completely erroneous, yet the administration, members of Congress, and t
