President Obama has decided to fire his embattled Afghan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal and replace him with Central Command Commander General David Petraeus. The president has now fired the last two Afghan commanders, but the Gen.McChrystal firing has more to do with his comments, and those of his aides, in a wildly reported article in Rolling Stone magazine that showed contempt for senior Obama officials.
By appointing Gen. Petraeus, the president is getting the architect of the Iraqi surge that proved successful in turning that country around from a brutal insurgency, which brought it back from the brink of disaster. Gen. Petraeus has extensive experience in the Middle East region which includes Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This change in leadership in Afghanistan is ironic as then Senator Obama was against the surge strategy articulated by Gen. Petraeus, which proved successful, and now is appointing the general to implement his own surge strategy in Afghanistan.
The question that still lingers is what does this do to the president’s policy in Afghanistan? This one could not have come a worse time for the president, with the Gulf Oil spill, the economy, and the looming mid-term elections ahead.
Its looking to be along summer!
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