President Obama says that General Stanley McChrystal — the top commander in Afghanistan — “showed poor judgment” in making published remarks about top American officials, including the President. Obama says his primary goal is to make sure al-Qaeda and its affiliates don’t attack the United States. Obama then praised the men and women of the American military who are fighting in Afghanistan to try to defeat the Taliban insurgents.
Did General Stanley McChrystal ever study the problems between General Douglas MacArthur and President Harry Truman during the Korean War? They had a big disagreement, and guess who won the argument. The buck ultimately stops at the President’s desk. That’s why he’s the Commander-in-Chief. But not only did General McChrystal disagree with President Obama, he said that Obama looked intimidated during a previous meeting.
If you’re in the military you have to respect the chain of command. I remember working with a sergeant when I was in uniform. We had a problem officer in our office, and as soon as the Sarge arrived on the scene he realized that officer was slowing down work in the office. He couldn’t go the Colonel, who was the officer’s boss. That would have made the Colonel look bad. So he figured out a way to help that officer do a good job without the officer even realizing what was going on.
General McChrystal would have benefited from that sergeant’s example. The Sarge was wise and unselfish. That sergeant was practicing what Jesus taught. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Respect! Consideration! Selflessness! Those are all words that would helped not only General McChrystal, but the men and women in his whole command.
This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.
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