The timing of Army General Stanley McChrystal’s recent, and dour, assessment of the war in Afghanistan should be noted, says Tom Engelhardt, in light of President Barack Obama’s wavering on the conflict’s long-term military commitment. McChrystal insists more troops must be sent to prevent failure, echoing concerns expressed by other top military commanders, such as Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Engelhardt insists the public cries from the military are heavily influenced by the doctrines, if not current opinions, of General David Petraeus, who orchestrated the “surge” in Iraq under President George W. Bush.

McChrystal’s report on the status of the Afghan war “sandbagged” Obama and had “a distinctly Petraeusian shape to it,” according to Engelhardt. He also notes that media coverage has reported “the military has been trying to push Obama into a corner” on Afghanistan. This is all troubling to Engelhardt.

“It’s one thing for the leaders of a country to say that war should be left to the generals when suddenly embroiled in conflict, quite another when that country is eternally in a state of war,” he writes. “In such a case, if you turn crucial war decisions over to the military, you functionally turn foreign policy over to them as well.”
                                                                                                                                                -Noel Brinkerhoff

A Military That Wants Its Way (by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch)