Dr. Maccoby participates in a Weekly Forum on Washington Post.com called "On Leadership". I am compiling all of his responses to the weekly questions here.
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DATE: June 24, 2010 McChrystal: Tough decision, but was it the right one? In confronting the issue of Gen. McChrystal's apparent insubordination, did President Obama have any choice but to remove him? Going forward, what can Gen. Petraeus do to overcome this dramatic shakeup and keep his troops reassured and on mission? |
Don't dismiss McChrystal's doubts
President Obama's decision to fire Gen. Stanley McChrystal seems correct from two points of view.
The general's display of disrespect for the civilian leadership of the armed forces is his second such offense. The first was his speech in London last year, when he publicly challenged the president.
However, his sounding off to the Rolling Stone reporter might be more than arrogance. Why would a four-star general risk reprimand and dismissal in such an obvious way? My psychoanalytic radar suggests the possibility that he was expressing his doubts about the whole Afghanistan mission and the civilian leaders making the decisions. The president is fortunate to have General David Petraeus as a replacement.
Petraeus should treat this as a normal change of command. It is usual for the new commander to review the situation by interviewing senior officers and senior noncoms. However, Petraeus should have a heart-to-heart talk with McChrystal and ask him directly whether he believes in the mission. It is essential to the national interest for Petraeus to carefully explore any and all doubts McChrystal has about what we are doing in Afghanistan and to discuss what he learns with the civilian leadership.
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