Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen Must Go
It is with regret that I call for President Obama to fire Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, unless, of course, the two men resign.
As regular readers here know, I’ve long supported President Obama’s reassertion of President Bush by retaining Gates, his credentials on Iraq stout. This is no longer the case.
First some names, dates and responsibilities:
Robert Gates was sworn in as SecDef on December 18, 2006; that is nearly three and a half years ago!
Admiral Mullen was elevated at the Joint Chiefs on August 3, 2007; this is over two years ago!
General David McKiernan is a four-star general who led the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan from June 3, 2008 until he was replaced by General Stanley McChrystal on June 15, 2009.
Finally, for context only, General David Petraeus was promoted to USCentComm in October 2008; McChrystal certainly has a solid-line reporting responsibility to Petraeus but I’ll admit I do not know his reporting responsibility to NATO.
Second, some recent quotes:
As reported by the Associated Press on September 3, Gates said eight-year old war in Afghanistan is “only now beginning.”
In explaining himself further, Gates added this gobbly-guk, “I think what is important to remember is the President's decisions on this strategy were only made at the very end of March; our new commander appeared on the scene in June . . . So we are only now beginning to be in a position to have the assets in place and the strategy or the military approach in place to begin to implement the strategy." (Blogger’ Note: It’s been a while since my last post because for some time I was only beginning to gather evidence for this post so that I could begin to formulize thoughts and then begin to write and it was only this morning that I began to begin beginning.)
In addition to authoring the asinine quote of the century (see my post of July 9, 2009), Adm. Mullen offered this beauty leading into the quiet Labor Day weekend, “We’ve badly resourced (the war in Afghanistan) for so long.”
Finally, Gates, lying in defense of his boss, claims that President Obama has been “crystal clear” with his explanation of “his” strategy for the war in Afghanistan. Well, I've been calling for President Obama to explain his escalation of the war in Afghanistan to the American people for months now and I'm sure I've seen no speech that supports the SecDef's ridiculous claim.
Third, the characterizations by the media, even the Wall Street Journal:
President Obama, apparently, is a counter-insurgency expert. We know that General Petraeus has spent nearly a lifetime studying counter-insurgency yet we are led to believe that somehow President Obama, a constitutional law “scholar” and a community organizer, resolved the best way to win the war in Afghanistan is to nation-build, develop trust among the populace (community organizing?), and track and kill the Taliban and al Qaeda.
The characterization in the media is that there is some solid line reporting responsibility between the ISAF commander and the President of the United States. I guess the Commander-in-Chief can organize his defense department however he sees fit but I find it extremely unlikely McChrystal is reporting directly to the President. I find it as extremely unlikely as Gen. McKiernan was reporting directly to the President.
Finally, my analysis:
Gates and Mullen have offered no quote or characterization that they share any responsibility for the war in Afghanistan. This is outrageous.
When McKiernan was fired, Gates was asked if it would mean the end of his career. “Probably,” came the icy reply.
McKiernan was on the job for one year. Gates has been on the job for over three years. Mullen has been on the job for over two years. What kind of counsel have THEY been providing the President that the war THEY were prosecuting was under-resourced for so long on their watch?
Gates and Mullen have lost credibility as they blame subordinates and demur to their boss. The troops in the field do not need such men looking out for them and we certainly need better looking out for our national security. Over the weekend I read accounts of two different US troops who lost their lives in Afghanistan. In separate incidents, both first lost their legs to a roadside bomb before they succumbed to their injuries; one will receive the Medal of Honor. The two men and every other soldier in Afghanistan needs to know that the SecDef and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has their back and I simply have not seen that in any quote or any paraphrased comments by either Gates or Mullen. The two of them continue explain beginning to begin; that's not good enough, in my opinion, for the troops in the field or for us safe(?) in our homes.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen should be fired for gross negligence if they truly believe they under-resourced a war. Or, they both should resign.
It is with regret that I call for President Obama to fire Secretary of Defense (SecDef) Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, unless, of course, the two men resign.
As regular readers here know, I’ve long supported President Obama’s reassertion of President Bush by retaining Gates, his credentials on Iraq stout. This is no longer the case.
First some names, dates and responsibilities:
Robert Gates was sworn in as SecDef on December 18, 2006; that is nearly three and a half years ago!
Admiral Mullen was elevated at the Joint Chiefs on August 3, 2007; this is over two years ago!
General David McKiernan is a four-star general who led the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan from June 3, 2008 until he was replaced by General Stanley McChrystal on June 15, 2009.
Finally, for context only, General David Petraeus was promoted to USCentComm in October 2008; McChrystal certainly has a solid-line reporting responsibility to Petraeus but I’ll admit I do not know his reporting responsibility to NATO.
Second, some recent quotes:
As reported by the Associated Press on September 3, Gates said eight-year old war in Afghanistan is “only now beginning.”
In explaining himself further, Gates added this gobbly-guk, “I think what is important to remember is the President's decisions on this strategy were only made at the very end of March; our new commander appeared on the scene in June . . . So we are only now beginning to be in a position to have the assets in place and the strategy or the military approach in place to begin to implement the strategy." (Blogger’ Note: It’s been a while since my last post because for some time I was only beginning to gather evidence for this post so that I could begin to formulize thoughts and then begin to write and it was only this morning that I began to begin beginning.)
In addition to authoring the asinine quote of the century (see my post of July 9, 2009), Adm. Mullen offered this beauty leading into the quiet Labor Day weekend, “We’ve badly resourced (the war in Afghanistan) for so long.”
Finally, Gates, lying in defense of his boss, claims that President Obama has been “crystal clear” with his explanation of “his” strategy for the war in Afghanistan. Well, I've been calling for President Obama to explain his escalation of the war in Afghanistan to the American people for months now and I'm sure I've seen no speech that supports the SecDef's ridiculous claim.
Third, the characterizations by the media, even the Wall Street Journal:
President Obama, apparently, is a counter-insurgency expert. We know that General Petraeus has spent nearly a lifetime studying counter-insurgency yet we are led to believe that somehow President Obama, a constitutional law “scholar” and a community organizer, resolved the best way to win the war in Afghanistan is to nation-build, develop trust among the populace (community organizing?), and track and kill the Taliban and al Qaeda.
The characterization in the media is that there is some solid line reporting responsibility between the ISAF commander and the President of the United States. I guess the Commander-in-Chief can organize his defense department however he sees fit but I find it extremely unlikely McChrystal is reporting directly to the President. I find it as extremely unlikely as Gen. McKiernan was reporting directly to the President.
Finally, my analysis:
Gates and Mullen have offered no quote or characterization that they share any responsibility for the war in Afghanistan. This is outrageous.
When McKiernan was fired, Gates was asked if it would mean the end of his career. “Probably,” came the icy reply.
McKiernan was on the job for one year. Gates has been on the job for over three years. Mullen has been on the job for over two years. What kind of counsel have THEY been providing the President that the war THEY were prosecuting was under-resourced for so long on their watch?
Gates and Mullen have lost credibility as they blame subordinates and demur to their boss. The troops in the field do not need such men looking out for them and we certainly need better looking out for our national security. Over the weekend I read accounts of two different US troops who lost their lives in Afghanistan. In separate incidents, both first lost their legs to a roadside bomb before they succumbed to their injuries; one will receive the Medal of Honor. The two men and every other soldier in Afghanistan needs to know that the SecDef and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has their back and I simply have not seen that in any quote or any paraphrased comments by either Gates or Mullen. The two of them continue explain beginning to begin; that's not good enough, in my opinion, for the troops in the field or for us safe(?) in our homes.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen should be fired for gross negligence if they truly believe they under-resourced a war. Or, they both should resign.
posted by Zack at 12:21 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for your thoughtful analysis. Assuming your facts are correct, I would have to agree with you. I haven't seen these guys challenged in the mainstream press...why?
Will
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