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As a general McChrystal gave a bad example of what a officer should be. I was in the military and the Commander In Chief is the PRESIDENT. You do no way disparage your commander. That is the cardinal rule of the military. You can disagree and totally hate one another but you show respect at all times.

The president is the commander and chief of the armed services. General McChrystal understands that you just don't go there. Good man but he was out of line.

I am not going to disagree that a lot of the nation is thinking the same thing but it is not his place to say in his position. What if we all said what we thought!

ABSOLUTELY!! I DONT KNOW IF IT IS BECAUSE OBAMA IS BLACK,BUT IT SEEMS PEOPLE VERBALIZE ALOT OF HATRED BIGOTRY AND CRY FREEDOM OF SPEECH.IF HE WERE WHITE,AND THIS WAS HAPPENING,FOLKS WOULD BE ACCUSED OF TREASON.SO MUCH DISRESPECT FOR THIS MAN AND IT IS SCARY.

Where else in the world is the Commander in Chief denigrated? If the USA is going to remain strong no one should be allowed to disrespect or degrade the highest ranked position in the country, even if the person is not respected, the position certainly deserves it!

I think Obama is a complete and total idiot, but that aside, this is the first truely presidential thing Obama has done. I like McChrystal, and I can amagine how he could have let something like this happen. Obama did what he had to do. Obama stock up at opening bell... but he's still an idiot

The president is absolutely correct in his decision.

Public dissension by military officers in time of war is a court-martialable offense. Look it up folks.

Obama cannot take criticism at all. Maybe the General had to do what he did. Obama said Petras was not the right man before and all of a sudden he is the right man. If Obama will let Petras do what has to be done this could be a good move.

he had to be fired for protocol, but i wonder if General McChrystal didn't take a hit for the team to let the American public know how badly it is going and how little faith the troops have in Obama. do it right or pull out.

total agreement here....

the MILITARY IS ABOUT.....upholding free speech and following orders.....
not
excercising FREE SPEECH :p)

We appear weak enough to our enemies. President Obama is wrong about many things, but seems to know that the only thing the Mideast mindset understands is strong, decisive and absolute-thinking leadership. President Bush understood this and was fried by the ultra-relativist media. Though is is sad to lose such an effective general, long term this is a plus to our overseas efforts.

For those who immediately turn on Obama as the guy who can't take criticism....what if Bush had received that kind of insubordination. McChrystal was totally out of line and totally unprofessional....we won't have that with a leader like Petraeus.

To quote someone I know....."A house divided against itself can not stand", "Jesus"!!

I hate to admit it but President Obama HAD to fire McCrystal. You cannot have your subordinates second guessing you and bad mouthing you in public. McArthur was fired for the same thing as well as Patton. These were two of our greatest generals ever. They were out of line in doing what they did as was McChrystal.

I agree with Gnomestar. This is one of the very few truly Presidental acts out of this administration.

YES HE IS THE PRESIDENT , JUST AS LONG AS HE DOESNT THINK HE;S GOD

this sums it up, Obama continues to destroy our nation

DME: Are you playing the Race Card? Race doesn't belong in this discussion.
That's what got us in this mess in the first place. Take away the photo and just look at a list of qualifications and accomplishments. Barry Hussein has done NOTHING!!!!
McCrystal is a true AMERICAN HERO!!! The wrong guy resigned.

Obama had to stand up up and show who is the boss, and he did. Now lets go on vacation again

McChrystal/Petraeus, what's the difference?
Today’s troops are not drafted. They choose to enlist in defense of our nation. These are some of the ROEs that contribute to their mounting casualties as listed by John Bernard of http://letthemfight.blogspot.com/:
“If there are or may be civilians in the area, and you are under attack, disengage; if an (insurgent) has dropped his weapon, you can’t fire on him even if he was firing at you; if you see an (insurgent) walking away from an IED, you can’t engage him; no surprise night searches of homes; no searches of homes without Afghan police or Afghan Army present to conduct the search; even when fired upon do not fire indiscriminately; do not tear down the homes of insurgents. And, never, ever use words like Jihad or call the terrorists anything but ‘insurgents’.”
Would you put yourself in harm's way, without the means to fight back? I think not. General Petraeus may be better able to keep his mouth shut, but he subscribes to the same rules of engagement. Iraq was different than Afghanistan, much different. He won't fare any better than McChrystal, unless he let's our guys do what they are trained to do. WIN.
As General George S. Patton once said; "Your job is not to give your life for your country. Your job is to make the other poor S.O.B. give his life for his country."

One of the very few decisions Obama made that was necessary. But it does not dismiss his intentions, motives and overall agenda. A liar can use truth to his advantage making him all the more deceptive.

The President can't accept public criticism of him and his staff by anyone in uniform. McCrystal has to learn to keep his opinions to himself and do his job while he is wearing the uniform. After he retires he can write a book denouncing Obama adn his staff.

McChrystal was out of line but Obama should have not accepted his resignation. Petras wasn't good enough for Obama before and now a few pissed off words get out and he is fit for the job ? General Mac was getting somewhere in this mess and should still be at the helm with a slapped wrist !

If this had been McCrystal's first offense I might agree with the multitude but since he has a history of getting away with unpunished insubordination, this should have been done many years ago so the right decision was made here as he must understand insubordination cannot be tolerated in the military and I admire the courage of our president to stand up and do the right thing. I have many family members serving in several branches of the military – including two grandsons - I want a leader who respects his commander and leads by example! McCrystal didn’t do that but our president did, that kind of talk and actions would have had his underlings doing the same and then we would have had an ineffective mutinous military! I also think the Rolling Stones reporter should have been more diplomatic in his article since he was given the freedom to be there and write about the war but his dislike for McCrystal comes through loud and clear.

McChrystal/Petraeus, what's the difference? They both subscribe to the same Rules of Engagement. (ROE's)
Today’s troops are not drafted. They choose to enlist in defense of our nation. These are some of those ROEs that contribute to their mounting casualties as listed by John Bernard of http://letthemfight.blogspot.com/:
“If there are or may be civilians in the area, and you are under attack, disengage; if an (insurgent) has dropped his weapon, you can’t fire on him even if he was firing at you; if you see an (insurgent) walking away from an IED, you can’t engage him; no surprise night searches of homes; no searches of homes without Afghan police or Afghan Army present to conduct the search; even when fired upon do not fire indiscriminately; do not tear down the homes of insurgents. And, never, ever use words like Jihad or call the terrorists anything but ‘insurgents’.”
That is no way to fight a war.
"Your job is not to give your life for your country. Your job is to make the other poor S.O.B. give his life for his country." General George S. Patton

They both did what they had to do. McChrystal was standing up for his men and is now happy that he doesn't have to write home to the parents of our soldiers killed by a stupid strategy of not firing first. He is the ultimate winner in this. War is what it is and if our troops can't fight it to win like we did in WW11 where we had to then there is no business being there. Lawyers, Journalist and people looking out for the rights of our enemies should be put on the front lines preaching to them and see how long they last in a battle and maybe they would let our fine soldiers go in and do the job they were trained to do. A war zone is a war zone and survillians should realize that and realize the consequences. O'Bama is our President but running a country and running a community are two entirely different jobs.

"Relieved of his post" is a nice way of putting it, perhaps too nice. He was fired! The appropriate language here from my view. I'm all for self-expression but not if you're a general talking about one's Commander-in-Chief aloud. It doesn't work. What he may think is his business and he could probably make some constructive comments, but there can be zero tolerance for that kind of 'negative talk', so I agree with Obama on this one. But not a whole lot else unfortunately, like his perpetuating these wars, or war in general. It is time to answer to a higher standard than "war is good for the economy, and it helps us 'stay afloat' in oil"....oops, did I say 'stay afloat in oil?" Why that's exactly what we're doing down south, isn't it! This is the kind of disaster that is waiting to befall us altogether--you can't invest billions/month in war killing people and expect to have a workable economy and 'happy life' at home when you know your tax dollars are going to make big corporations wealthier and killing people in the name of perpetuating Democracy, which we're not so good at actualizing ourselves. And the story goes on, but most important, is that we see WHY war is fought and having seen, STOP them all and stop making money our national religion.

just exactly what did General McChrystal say that was insubordination? I can't find it!

I think that the Commander-in-Chief could trust and forgive General McChrystal, if the General sincerely and publically apologized. However, I have not read the full (and probably biased) report from Rolling Stones, a publication I tend to ignore. The General seems to have been careless/foolish in exposing himself/his team to them. I hope that General McChrystal will continue to find opportunity to serve effectively and strengthen this nation.

McChrystal got what he wanted. I wouldn't want to work for someone that didn't respect my opinion (based on experience and knowledge), told me I had to do something that I was certain wouldn't work, and didn't pay me what I was worth. When Obama's war ultimately fails because he put civilians in charge that can't understand the work being done or even the need for it, people will understand who was right. But by then it will be too late. This country got what it deserved when it elected a person totally lacking in experience, judgment, wisdom and plain old common sense. We all have to pay the price when we make stupid decisions.

VIETNAM TAUGHT THE UNITED STATES THAT SOME WARS ARE POLITICAL AND NOT ALL CAN BE WON. BY GIVING A PULLOUT DATE TO THE ENEMY THIS UNDERMINES WHAT ALL OUR SOLDIERS ARE FIGHTING AND GIVING THEIR LIVES FOR. THE PRESIDENT SHOULD TAKE THE HEAT ON THIS ISSUE. HE DID DO THE CORRECT THING IN THIS CASE. MY COMMANDER IN CHIEF WHETHER I THINK HE IS RIGHT OR WRONG.

To those who claim this was about tolerating criticism: if grandstanding in the media is someone's idea of criticism, he demonstrates quite well he's a narcistic twit. More, he's a cowardly narcistic twit, because he doesn't have the guts to look into the eyes of those he attacks. He could have voiced all the criticism he wanted, but not by grandstanding, and not via the press. What this is about is the failure of a military officer to acknowledge the primacy of civilian authorities on the one hand and his commander in chief on the other. The first, no free nation can tolerate lest it become a military dictatorship. The second is plain and simply insubordination. The general would hardly have acted differently, had one of his officers chosen to berate him via the press

Sad that the General and his friends weren't aware there was an a'hole reporter from Rolling Stone magazine takin' notes--from what I've read their personal comments were what most folks in the USA also think of Osambo and his bureaucratic hirelings--no one is indispewnsible so the war games will go on as planned---just hope the replacement for Mc Crystal is up to speed on the plans--in WW2 we took out everybody obn the ground--and we won the war.. Political correctness is costin' us too many good young ppl

Obama had no choice.
But, what is our goal in Afghanistan?
We need to get out of both Iraq (a horrible decision) and Afghanistan.
Waste of resources.

Absolutely, I agree with Obama. He took the correct action. If he had some disagreements he should had spoken directly to Obama first not behind him. His true colors showed. That's how division starts.

I wish the General would have gone to the President instead of the press and they could have discussed the division. Ultimately Obama had no choice but to change the leadership.

fire him outright is the best thing to do. We have a civilian controlled military

I would have liked this story instead. HEADLINES: McCrystal Replaces Obama!!!

We are losing our country to a president who has no training in politics. the General spoke out of line, yes, but, was what he said correct? I think so. We are losing alot of our children and husbands and wives over there and it is hurting us economically because we keep building them up and they do not help themselves to keep their country in order. How can we keep our country safe, secure (economically and securely) if our nation stats to lose in all directions, such as employment, drug smuggling, illigal immagrants, and to top it all off, it looks as if we have turned our backs on our constituion when all of our rights are being rewritten. Where have we put God in One Nation. We can't have a national day of prayer at the White House or prayer, any referal to God or Christianity in our schools but all other nationality can have their beliefs. Our Nation is turning away from what our Fore Fathers based our Consitution on. GOD HELP THIS NATION for we are losing our freedonm and fighting so other can have freedom.

I was in the military when Bill Clinton was in the white house and we were under orders by our Commander not to tell Clinton jokes. I never respected that man and to this day I refuse to display my retirement certificate that bares his singature. Enough said!!!!!!

General McChrystal is a brilliant man. He knew exactly how to bring the public attention to a situation the Obama adminstration has ignored. General McChrystal fell on the grenade to get attention to the situation and to get the resources needed to finish the Afganistan war and get out. If that mean's General Petraeus is the right resource to get the Obama administration to sit up and take notice, so be it.

Please note that soldiers selected to wear stars are not your average soldier but scholors -academic scholors - that understand theory yet have real world experience, the one thing our politicians lack for the most part.

General McChrystal is know for being rather brash. Yes, General McChrystal failed to be tactful when telling the Obabma adminstration to get their sh!t in one sock, not just once but several times.

So, what to do? Thank General McChrystal for having the balls to lay it all on the line in hopes of getting the war over, getting our people home and voting Obama out of office in 2012.

It is what it is. Can't have this sort of thing in the military regardless of whether or not it's true. We lose all the current knowledge of the man in charge,in Afghanistan,but his replacement is top notch. The real problem is rules of engagement,which are rediculas, and having any politician involved with military missions. Leave the fighting to fighting men and leave the screwing up of the country to politicians, of which they are so obviously competent.Sometimes one can speak the truth,but being right can put you in the wrong.Especially with an ultra-thin skinned person with no background,no knowledge and no experiance,just an agenda of which the American people are getting very tired with at breakneck speed.We are a country in deep trouble and being managed by people who have no business sense,whatsoever.

I agree with what you stated. It is time to finish this war and bring all of our loved ones home. My brothers all served in the Army, two of which were Veitnam Vets. Yes, if the Commander in Cheif can not pull his head out of his a... then someone needs to get our attention to the situation. Things are hard here in the US and will be alot harder if we keep going this way. God help our nation for we are not standing up for her. We need to get back to the Basics of what our Nation stands for and lately it isn't freedom. They say we are responsible for our children and our livelihood. What to do if you are not allowed to have full hand in raising your children and your livelihood is destroyed because there are no jobs. He (Obama) needs to let the experienced soldiers do their job and Obama needs to do his job (with as little training he has) and pull us out of this mess. He needs to pay atttention to the People and what the People wants, not what he wants.

I would say yes and for the first time this president has done ANYTHING I agree with. Maybe McChrystal {who used bad judgement in this case] will write a book and really lay out the facts regarding this war and this thin skinned, pathetic president and people around him that are destroying our coutry. I am waiting for 2012 to be proud again. And in Nov 2010, it will start the ball rolling.

I agree with you. I didn't vote for the president we have because we had never seen this man in any political situations and as I told my husband he was only in office 4 months before running for the presidency. What quailified him excepth a lot of nuts who thought he was a sign of the times. We as a nation need to start looking more into qaulifications and ethic of a person before we decide if this is who has the qaulities to lead, protect, serve, and be a true American Leader.

Obama is not an American patriot, he wishes destroy USA in Afganistan and Irak, his army is not going to win and destitution of McKrystal general is not going to make better USA Army situation, what Obama does not tell you, is USA is going to take off more money from USA from taxes, and USA deubt with the federal reserve factory of money is going to grow uup, the communist of Obama is planning all that, to make weaker USA

It is no necesary tell USA people, that obama and his gang are going to bring USA to ruin

The general was no fool. He took a bullet for his troops. He knew it's against all protocol to say such things in an interview with, of all folks, Rolling Stone. He knew it would get out. And more importantly he knew it NEEDED to be said. He sacrificed himself but did more good for the effort in Afghanistan than if he had continued the course, a course that everyone except the President and his advisors, knows is failing. Obama made a big stand on the dismissal, as was his perogative but the nation would have been better served had he consulted with the general in detail about the remarks he made and discussed how they could make things better. Obama hides behind the protocol of his office instead of leading the way by listening to military men on the battlefield, something every person in the military expects of their Commander-in-Chief. The general will recover. I'm not so sure that can be said about the strategy being implemented in this war by a sadly incompetent White House. The general was inappropriate; the President in wholly unprepared and incompetent. I salute the general on his way out and shudder at what remains.

Although I agree with the generals assessment of the executive branch of our government, it is not proper military protocal to publicly make fun of a a superior officer.

Contrary to what some bloggers think, the McChrystal case is nothing like MacArthur's or Patton's. MacA was fired for issuing a series of public speeches and statements criticizing Truman's Asian strategy, and following that up with issuing an ultimatum to China that sabotaged Truman's attempts to negotiate a cease-fire. Patton was finally fired for a press conference in which he defended using Nazis to run his military governorship of Bavaria and said that the Nazi party was just like the Democrats and Republicans in the US. This came after a long series of PR blunders for which he was eventually forgiven, like slapping soldiers who were hospitalized for combat fatigue. McChrystal did nothing remotely like either of these; and if you read the Rolling Stone article, one obvious thing is that most of the quotes were from unnamed aides or staff members, not the general himself. He should never have allowed the reporter to gain such access; but if he is the right leader for the Afghanistan operation, it was stupid to remove him for such a petty offense.

After being a military wife for a long time. I know you cannot really say what you want. But the man is speaking the truth. I don't believe that he has helped this country one bit and I voted for him. I am beginning to regret that decision. I think that the president got his feelings hurt. He needs to get a back bone and just let hte remarks roll off his back.

Irony .... Obama should have resigned.
In my life time I have never stood witness to a president who has shown as little respect to the citizens of our great country let alone the men and women working EVERYDAY to protect our freedom.
General McChrystal knew what he was doing .... just wish the voters did when they voted for Obama.

Why don't the general and the president both show their birth certificates?

McChrystal voted for Obama and is a liberal. Imagine what the predominantly conservative soldiers think when a liberal can't hold back ay longer. EVERY THOUGHTFUL PERSON I KNOW believes what the General's staff said and far more.

Where was the outrage when Obama trashed then President Bush and his war strategy (AND General Petraeus) TO OUR ENEMIES?????? And who has trashed this country WORLDWIDE? It is the most egregious hypocrisy and just about everyone but the brain dead syncophantic media KNOW IT.

The General is a choirboy compared to Obama. The citizens need to FIRE Obama. First by removing his supporters from the Senate and the House, rejecting every one of his totally unqualified Court appointees, and then by immobilizing him until an unceremonious defeat in 2012 if he doesn't resign in frustration first. Chris Christie seems the best bet right now - a guy with guts AND the right ideas.

sorry, a general jumped on it he has his own reasons, the president has the right to choose, I hope that this is not the end of a career military general.

My father always taught me that if I did not like an employer, I should just get the heck out - if I chose to stay, DO NOT talk against employer. I worked for 45 years before retirement - it always worked for me!

In times of stress and war, it is necessary for the chief executive to mold the most favorable blend of personalities to overcome the conflict. I'm certain that if the President has the same powers that his predecessors did, he made the decision for the right reasons. During the Civil War, Lincoln cut and sliced his commanders to form a formidable force which inevitably prevailed. Grant was an alcoholic and very brash, but he had a knack for commanding forces. The future will know if this presidential decision was correct or not, but for now, my respect goes to the CEO ... the guy in charge. Vietnam Vet.

His feelings were hurt, but I understand that generals can't be insubordinate. It's just unfortunate that Gen. McChrystal was so frustrated that he let the Rolling Stone people get too close to him. I've said before, that it would be far better to have a president with at least some police or military experience, and this just proves it. He should have had a tallk with the general and let him go back to Afghanistan where the troops really worship him. Also, how can a general conduct a war when the media and the countries you are fighting have the withdrawal date? And how can your men and women perform as they've been trained when they can't fire their weapons because of "rules of engagement"? Yes, the National Day of Prayer was canacelled, but did you know that there was a National Day of Muslim Prayer the following day, and that Obama took part in it with 50,000 Muslims near the White House? Today, there were two Muslims appointed to Homeland Security positions. Now do you know why McChrystal is so frustrated?

I have to agree with the Commander-in-Chiefs position. Although we sometimes do not agree with the Chain of Command, there is a process from which to follow. It was a flagrant violation on the part of the General. We can by all means express our humble opinions within ranks and among peers. We have a code to uphold, and in his remarks to Rolling Stone for whatever reason should not have been made public while he held the position he did.

The Bankers have done more harm to this country than the General...if he really wanted to send a message to the people of the US and to the business community...he could have started by firing some of the bankers/lenders who got us into this mess...particularly those who accepted TARP/Bail Out money...Don't tell me he can't do it because I know that he can....he is just gutless to do so !.

Obama..wont get my vote in 2012.

Shinseki publicly clashed with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the planning of the war in Iraq over how many troops the U.S. would need to keep in Iraq for the postwar occupation of that country. As Army Chief of Staff, General Shinseki testified to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that "something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers" would probably be required for postwar Iraq. This was an estimate far higher than the figure being proposed by Secretary Rumsfeld in his invasion plan, and it was rejected in strong language by both Rumsfeld and his Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, who was another chief planner of the invasion and occupation.[5] From then on, Shinseki's influence on the Joint Chiefs of Staff reportedly waned.[6] Critics of the Bush Administration charged that Shinseki was forced into early retirement as Secretary of the Army because of his comments on troop levels, but the claim is inaccurate.[7]

The general wanted out and he out smart the president now he wll get a golden parachute, resigning on his own would have been interpretated cowardness, now he as a reason to leave

The wrong person was fired!!! Obama needs to go! I'm grateful we have some people like McChrystal that will stand up for right, and tell it like it is!! Somebody has to do it, and we need to support people that honestly are trying to do the right thing for this country and for the world. Obviously, Obama doesn't have a clue, and is not listening to people that do know what needs to be done. We need a President that can lead, listen, and make desisions that are right for the country and the world.

If I recall history of what I remember hearing right, Bin Lodden said that they will strike from within our government. Wel Boys and Girls guess what,? Like Cowboy Company said 2 Muslems are now in our Homeland Security System and how many close to the White House or in the White House, after all Pres Obama attended their day of prayer but refused ours. It is beginning to sound like they will be within our govenment control If this Country does not form an Allegiance to our Nation then I fear for my children and grandchildren's way of life and freedom. Who is going to fight for our freedom here while most of our troops are over there hunting for a ghost who just might be here? Does anyone really know whats it is going to take to wise our country and our so call president up? I think the the General knew something and the President wanted him hushed really quick. But that is my opionion or 2 cents worth. We had better get on our Knees to our Lord and pray that our Nation comes t its senses before it is too late. We were once a very strong country who would not tolerate this but we have grown soft and lewt our govenment do what they wanted, I say it is time that they hear all our voices not just a few. I am not a supporter of any political person who will not stand up for our rights and country, nor am I a supporter of a state political person who will not stand firm in mine or my families freedom. We would have called for removal of a President and Vice President if they refused to protect our Nation. Are they?, I don't think they are but some might really think it. All I know is I am asking my Lord Jesus Christ to protect my home and my children's homes for I am fearing the worst.

That's what he gets I guess for throwing a few back and speaking his mind. Freedom of speech does not include our military (apparently). Good thing I wasn't in McCrystal's place, I would've told Obama to stick the war where the (only place) the sun doesn't shine!

I wonder why Obama didn't force Biden to resign for dropping the ''F'' bomb?? And he didn't do it in some magazine, he did publicly on a open mike! The whole nation and no doubt half the world heard it. I can imagine McCrystal is wondering.........''What the F........!!"

The General spoke out in frustration over the way DC was handling things over here. He was wrong to speak out his true feelings but dealing with DC wellll......
I was amusedwhen Obama did not even know how or when to salute on his first day in office! Commander in Chief in name only.