Old Generals Don't Die...

They just get quoted by Rolling Stone.

My two cents on the RS General McCrystal profile: In a rational, substance driven world, the most damaging parts of Michael Hastings' piece are the ones that are pretty much already common knowledge:

1) We cannot decisively defeat Al Queda by fighting in Afghanistan.

2) Any strategy we pursue will cost more in money and blood than most Americans feel is warranted.

Hastings is not the first and won't be the last to point this out in print. And, as far as I can tell, no one is even denying any of the substantive aspects of the piece. What gets everyone's panties in a bunch is Hastings recorded McCrystal and his staff criticizing civilian leadership and generally acting inappropriate.

So, essentially, these guys drink, curse and sometimes disagree with their bosses. Not exactly gripping stuff and, to my mind, not particularly demeaning to McCrystal. Whatever you may think of his plans for Afghanistan or his potty mouth, at least he isn't a cynic or a glad-hander. The only question is why he did any of this in front of a reporter.

I'm not disagreeing with the President's Personnel choices either. If I woke up to that Rolling Stone article I would have fired McCrystal too, but that is not nearly as important a decision as our path forward in the quagmire that was accurately described in the article.

Is Obama going to pretend to have a plan in Afghanistan for about 12 more months and then begin pulling out troops regardless of the nearly inevitable inadequacies of the Afghan government and military? Or is July 2011 a bait and switch and we will really be there for the next hundred years trying to build a nation from scratch? Neither is a very attractive position.

Afghanistan is not Iraq; there are reasonable arguments for us to be there. There have even been times when I felt that the invasion was warranted by the Taliban's support for Al Queda. But ultimately, you have to ask yourself, would I die for this cause? Anyone who claims to support the war but has not signed up for military service is voting with their feet.