Was General Stanley McChrystal right to air his views questioning the direction of the Afghan war?
By Charlie Meyer: “Loose lips sink ships.” Last September, this columnist was glad General Stanley McChrystal was in command in Afghanistan, and I wrote highly of him. Historically, Afghanistan is one of the toughest theaters of any war. Ask the Brits. Call Moscow. We needed a gifted, smart, and tough commander, and I thought we found the right man for the job. I didn’t expect him to fail in his behavior as a leader. I am not angry, as much as I am disappointed, in Gen. McChrystal’s errors. One of the key differentiators that sets America apart from some other nations is that our elected civilian leaders lead the military. Look around the world, and in your history books, and you’ll find regimes run by the military, none of which were paragons of liberty. As a retired officer who came up from the enlisted ranks, I was proud to serve, but I also knew the military was good at some things, such as defense and warfighting, and lousy at others, namely, running a free society. It’s said mili
