IGNORE HIM, HE'S VENTING:

Book blows 'cool' Obama's cover (ANI, May 9, 2010)

The outburst came after Gen. Stanley McChrystal gave a speech in London in which he publicly rejected proposals to turn the tide in Afghanistan with more drone missiles and special forces, a strategy backed mainly by vice-president Joe Biden.

Obama viewed McChrystal's comments as a bald attempt to back him into a Pentagon-backed plan more reliant on troop build-ups — and he soon ripped into top commanders for what he considered insubordination.

At the Oval Office, Obama told defense secretary Robert Gates and Gen David Petraeus that he was "exceedingly unhappy" with the Pentagon's conduct, adding that its leaks to the press were "disrespectful of the process".

"This was a cold and bracing meeting," an attendee said of the encounter, where Obama demanded to know "here and now" if the Pentagon would be onboard with any presidential strategy.

Petraeus later described himself as "chagrined", and both he and Gates "swore loyalty" to the President. Obama eventually supported a troop build-up.

Generals are world-class bureaucrats--the inexperienced UR never stood a chance.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 8, 2010 2:43 PM