Obama Properly Relieves McChrystal of Command

The talking heads are in overdrive on the issue of Barack Obama's removal of General Stanley McCrystal from command of the Afghanistan theater. As I have noted before, McChrystal is but one of the members of the senior military brass who seem to have forgotten that the CIVILIAN commanders are in ultimate charge, not the pompous and egomaniac elements at the Joint Chiefs and the immediate subordinates. Those senior brass challenging the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell will now hopefully think twice before shooting off their mouths challenging the President and/or Congress. The following letter to General Douglas MacArthur - who is revered as a near demi-god in this area where he is buried in the majestic MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk - signed by President Harry Truman reminds all of us of this critical basis for democracy in the USA which has escaped military dictatorship for over 230 years:

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Here are some highlights from MSNBC on Obama's decision to remove McChrystal which, again, I fully support, because McChrystal brought this all upon himself by his own hubris and insubordination:
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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama sacked his loose-lipped Afghanistan commander Wednesday, a seismic shift for the U.S. military order in wartime, and chose the familiar, admired — and tightly disciplined — Gen. David Petraeus to replace him. Petraeus, architect of the Iraq war turnaround, was once again to take hands-on leadership of a troubled war effort.
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Obama said bluntly that Gen. Stanley McChrystal's scornful remarks about administration officials represent conduct that "undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system."
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Obama hit several grace notes about McChrystal and his service after their Oval Office meeting, saying that he made the decision to sack him "with considerable regret." And yet, he said the job in Afghanistan cannot be done now under McChrystal's leadership, asserting that the critical remarks from the general and his inner circle in the Rolling Stone magazine article displayed conduct that doesn't live up to the standards for a command-level officer.
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Obama seemed to suggest that McChrystal's military career is over, saying the nation should be grateful "for his remarkable career in uniform" as if that has drawn to a close.
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With Washington abuzz, there had been a complete lockdown on information about the morning's developments until just before Obama spoke. By pairing the decision on McChrystal's departure with the name of his replacement, Obama is seeking to move on as quickly as possible from the firestorm.
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If not insubordination, the remarks — as well as even sharper commentary about Obama and his White House from several in McChrystal's inner circle — were at the least an extraordinary challenge from a military leader. The capital had not seen a similar public contretemps between a president and a top wartime commander since Harry Truman stripped Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his command more than a half-century ago after disagreements over Korean war strategy.
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Notably, neither McChrystal nor his team questioned the accuracy of the story or the quotes in it. McChrystal issued an apology.
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Living in an area with a large number of senior military brass, my impression is that they have huge egos, think that they defecate chocolate, and believe that they are answerable to no one. I sincerely hope that McChrystal's dismissal will send a strong wake up call.