President Barack Obama announces that he has accepted Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's resignation from his post as the top NATO and U.S. commander in Afghanistan and that he is nominating Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, to replace him. Left to right, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Vice President Joe Biden, Petraeus, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates accompanied Obama in the Rose Garden. General Petraeus’s October Surprise -- Michael Scheuer, The Diplomat
The timing of Gen. Petraeus’s good news on Afghanistan is strangely convenient for Washington—and glosses over the reality of a likely civil war.
Last month saw a surprising flood of good tidings from Afghanistan. We learned that the US-NATO offensive in Kandahar is succeeding; that drone strikes are breaking al-Qaeda’s back; that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are at daggers drawn; and that the Taliban is ready to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the Afghan war.
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My Comment: If true, this is not the first time (nor last) that Generals have either been involved in (or used) by politics and politicians. But it is unfortunate that the Afghan war has not been openly debated and discussed during this election cycle, and with news from Afghanistan getting more grim (not positive according to General Petraeus) this lack of debate will only help to reinforce those who have become deeply skeptical of our political system .... myself included.