In July 2010, when Stanley McChrystal resigned in disgrace, few people questioned it because he had violated military protocol by allowing members of his staff to be quoted by Rolling Stone making comments critical of President Barack Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden, and senior members of their foreign policy team. But it angered Michael Flynn and contributed to making him America’s angriest general.
That’s ironic because Flynn went on to promote the candidacy of Donald Trump and McChrystal went on television on Sunday to condemn Trump in moral terms.
“Is Trump immoral, in your view?” Raddatz asked.
“I think he is,” he said.
McChrystal said he couldn’t tell any of Trump’s supporters “that they are wrong,” but added, “What I would ask every American to do is … stand in front of that mirror and say, ‘What are we about? Am I really willing to throw away or ignore some of the things that people do that are — are pretty unacceptable normally just because they accomplish certain other things that we might like?’
“If we want to be governed by someone we wouldn’t do a business deal with because their — their background is so shady, if we’re willing to do that, then that’s in conflict with who I think we are. And so I think it’s necessary at those times to take a stand.”
McChrystal also discouraged anyone from agreeing to serve as Trump’s Secretary of Defense.
He also cautioned anyone who might fill the vacancy left by Defense Secretary James Mattis’ departure, to consider if their values sufficiently align with those of the president.
“I think maybe it causes the American people to take pause and say, wait a minute, if we have someone who is as selfless and as committed as Jim Mattis resign his position, walking away from all the responsibility he feels for every service member in our forces and he does so in a public way like that, we ought to stop and say, ‘OK, why did he do it?,’” McChrystal said on “This Week.”
“I would ask [potential candidates] to look in the mirror and ask them if they can get comfortable enough with President Trump’s approach to governance, how he conducts himself with his values and with his worldview to be truly loyal to him as a commander in chief and going forward,” McChrystal said. “If there’s too much of a disconnect then I would tell him I think it’s — it would be a bad foundation upon which to try to build a successful partnership at that job.”
McChrystal said he would not take a job in the Trump administration if he were asked.
I don’t know how this is any kind of solution, however, since the country needs someone to run the Pentagon. The logical conclusion is that the president needs to be removed from office.
Never fear, Mulvaney’s available.
Oh, lets not forget about Bolton. He is ready to be acting SOD. He might do better than Rumsfeld. Remember he sent troops to the Middle East without bullet proof vests.
At this point it is irrefutable that Trump has compromised the integrity of the DoD and every other branch he has touched.
Yes, anyone that steps up to the plate now can only be seen as a Trump enabler, not a leader or even adult in the room. People fell for the Gen Kelly line that he would straighten Trump out, clean house and run a tight ship. He failed in every way and leaves disgraced.
McConnell and his Senate are going to be up against some stark hearings on nominees, if indeed any nominees show up.
McChrystal said he couldn’t tell any of Trump’s supporters “that they are wrong,”
And why the hell not? McChrystal’s approach is an appeal to morality and decency- it’s an Obama approach, and is an ineffective, beat-around-the-bush approach.
I suppose it’s not in America’s geopolitical interest for McChrystal to say that Trump is a shockingly ignorant con-man (‘smocking’ should have been the Dan Quayle ‘potatoe’ moment), and that America’s been suckered, but that it’s time to catch-on.
But when Trump is openly laughed at in the UN General Assembly, the rest of the world already gets it.
If you are still “approving” of Der Trumper as of 12/31/18, you are by definition not morally reachable…and of course such a person was never intellectually reachable.
Past and future may divert … McChrystal hired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, UAE [its mercenaries in Yemen] … “Mad Dog” Gen. Mattis removed from his job as head of CENTCOM by Obama. Speech at the Marine Corps University Foundation’s 2014 Semper Fidelis Award Dinner. Obama made the right decision as commander-in-chief on both occasions.
It’s been a long time ask, the world has changed but not getting better. We’ll keep pounding the keyboard though and put effort in the local community. 🙂
Much appreciated.
From your link, you wrote some excellent tributes to Sen. Warren in 2013.
A big part of the comic irony of TrumpAmerica is that while National Trumpalists desired an authoritarian strongman, what they actually got was a blustering, two-bit conman ignoramus who can’t even run the WH night-time kitchen operation.
So the country that supposedly “elected” an American Mussolini is effectively leaderless, without direction from either the executive branch or Congress. Now we are freezing the pay of all federal workers for some mysterious reason. WTF? More Great Leadership from the CEO of FailedNation, Inc.!
I suppose one could argue that the Glorious Trumper himself made the “strongman” decision to clear US forces out of Syria, but even there the situation was that the spineless coward Trumper was caving to the blustering demand of a (stronger) strongman, Erdogan. OUR “strongman” is great at putting helpless refugee children at fatal risk, but standing up to real global strongmen, not so much…
As for the grossly insubordinate McChrystal, Obama now perhaps looks somewhat better as a Commander-in-Chief, eh, Stanley?
Trump froze the pay of federal workers because he has convinced himself that they are all Democrats and thus his enemy and so must be punished. 85% of all federal workers are not in the DC Metro area and quite a few out there in the boonies. Quelle idiot!
All Trump has left is “punishing” damned horrid LIEbrul DemoRATS and owning/pwning the libruls. Ergo, Trump has determined that every single Fed worker is a shitty LIEbrul Democrat. No doubt his base are all beside themselves with unbridled job that Trump is withholding their pay. They’re all darky freeloading worthless scum, who don’t really earn their pay, so screw ’em.
The insanity continues…
And the propaganda wurltizer pushes out this crap that every single fed worker is a DemonRAT. I don’t own a tv and barely listen to radio anymore, but that’s what I’m seeing on the gym tvs. Ugh.
. . . Dems/Dem-leaning, a significant minority most certainly are not. Certainly including many Trump-duped voters. None of whom he can afford to lose. Most/all of whom this will alienate.
Quel [ahem] idiot, indeed.
May that be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
. . . while also too serving that other “(stronger) strongman” Putin!
It’s a two-fer!
This Shannon guy is certainly not the one to do the job. I don’t know if he is corrupt or otherwise compromised by his previous Boeing experience but what we need is an independent voice over there. Given Trump’s mafia-like “management” style that would be quite impossible. I agree that we also cannot have the Pentagon simply running on autopilot. It is already much too unaccountable and lacking in transparency as the audit failure has evidenced. Dark days.
Anyone who slams Trump, no matter what their past positions or alleged bona fides, are viewed as the bounden enemy of Trump’s fanatical fans. So it really matters very little what the likes of someone like McChrystal says.
No matter how messed up the Trump Admin is or becomes, Trump’s fans will dutifully watch Fox, listen to Rush, go to their Kristiany Churches and believe fully that Trump is their bounden savior and is doing the bestest job EVAH!!
So what McChrystal says means little, frankly.
This is a moment of extreme danger. If any of our enemies (or other opportunistic psychopaths) on the world stage have prepared for this kind of opening, we are in big trouble.
I’m not sure what you have in mind but given that Trump is destroying our leadership on the world stage, along with our security with our allies, I certainly agree. You would almost suspect he was working for some other world leader /s.