Time Warp

You're there in the time slip
And nothing can ever be the same
You're spaced out on sensation,
like you're under sedation
--Time Warp,
Rocky Horror Picture Show

Those who can make you believe absurdities
can make you commit atrocities
--Voltaire
________________

There is an unwritten rule among competent soldiers that says, never criticize your contemporaries. This is both self-serving and prudent, as have all done something that can be seen as deficient.

So what did McChrystal's unidentified aide mean when he criticized General George Jones as being "a clown" who was "stuck in 1985" (The Runaway General)?

Presumably the criticism meant that Jones was still a proponent of Cold War methods and ideology [1985 was the year Jones entered the War College, while McChrystal took command of the 75th Ranger Regiment.] The implication is that Counterinsurgency (COIN) and Counter Terrorism have superseded the Cold War mindset.

However, the Cold War mentality is still alive and well in U.S. foreign and military policy. From Colin Powell to Condi Rice to Hillary Clinton, we are still playing the containment game with Russia. Even after the collapse of the Soviet empire, the U.S. still aims to isolate Russia, thereby curtailing her efforts at military expansion.

The problem with this approach is that Russia shows little desire to engage in military adventurism. That is instead a role the U.S. occupies in today's world arena.

Our military forces are addressing a Warsaw Pact that no longer exists. So while the comment of McChrystal's henchman was true, there is an odd and disingenuous ideological grafting which is prevalent in the COIN crowd: They justify the continuation of the war in Afghanistan using Cold War logic, and the same language which justified the U.S. occupation of Korea for 60 years.

They speak of The Long War with glee, but to use Korea as justification is an absurd position. The North Koreans are a tad more of a threat than are the al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, which total probably less than 200.

The bold Coindinistas are, like the General they dismiss, caught in a Cold War time warp; they just don't know it. It made more sense back when Communism was they bogeyman; at least then it was nation-states against each other. Now, it is a nation-state opposing less than 1,000 people.

The COIN proponents are too stoked to see what an ideologically odd gryphon to which they pay homage.

________________

Who's in Charge?

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to,
cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you
--Cry if I Want To, Lesley Gore
_______________

Since McChrystal was the Commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, then how did Obama gain the exclusive right to relieve him?

Since this is ostensibly a NATO command, shouldn't the involved NATO members have a say in the matter? This unilateral action indicates that this theatre of action is not an allied effort.

It is an Obama show.

Chrystal Clear

A clever man commits
no minor blunders
--Goethe

Be, all that you can be
in the Army
--Army recruitment jingle
_______________

In the past, Ranger predicted General David Petraeus would be the 2012 Republican presidential candidate running on the platform, "We lost because Obama didn't fight the good fight, etc."

It is possible that he was four stars off in his prediction? Another interpretation of the current McChrystal brouhaha is that the General is intentionally forcing the moment to a crisis, to bolster his chance to run for the presidency in 2012. What could be a better vote-getter than the game plan that is presently playing out?

New, updated Ranger Prediction: If McChrystal stands up to "I know whose ass to kick" Obama and holds his ground, then this is the opening salvo in the 2012 presidential campaign. McChrystal knows that Petraeus will be the Army Chief of Staff and that he therefore has no chance to occupy that slot.

Why not go for the gusto? No guts, no glory.

Spinning Wheels

Talking about your troubles and you,
you never learn
Ride a painted pony
let the spinning wheel turn
--Spinning Wheels,
Blood, Sweat and Tears
_______________

Today's news is that General McChrystal has put his foot in his mouth, an action which is a perfect analog to the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©).

In a nutshell, McChrystal criticized Obama and special envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq Afghan Richard Holbrooke; Obama criticizes Afghan president Hamid Karzai, and Karzai continues to rake in U.S. dollars to finance his future lifestyle after he escapes to England or France.

The entire PWOT © seems like an old transmission that groans with every turn of the engine. Pretty soon the gears will become too loose or it will overheat from friction; either way, the machine will cease to function. The transmission lacks oil and fluid, and the gears don't mesh. Moreover, the driver doesn't know how to coax the old mare.

The above is a far cry from the actions of the leadership of al-Qaida, which by comparison seems to operate in a smooth manner.

That is what our PWOT has become: An old, self-destructive gearbox that will not take us anywhere that we need to go. Gen. McChrystal's mouth is the giveaway.