As top commander of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal spends several days a week visiting military outposts across the country and meeting with local Afghan officials. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)Obama Redefines White House Relationship With Top Field Commander -- L.A. Times
President Obama does not have the one-on-one relationship with Gen. McChrystal that President Bush did with Gen. Petraeus, but rather a more traditional one along the chain of command.
Reporting from Washington - President Obama and his predecessor differ significantly in their approach to America's wars. They differ at least as much in their relationship with their top battlefield commander.
During the Bush administration, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the then-ground commander in Iraq, assumed the role of a trusted advisor who frequently visited the White House or talked to the president by phone.
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My Comment: President Obama and his close associates have no interest in having a celebrity General .... and are conducing themselves accordingly. This was revealed when General McChrystal's gave his interview to 60 Minutes. When he answered that he not been in contact with the President for a number of months after being appointed the job of top field commander in Afghanistan, you can sense right away that this not only rattled the White House, but it also rattled the Pentagon and many of our Afghan allies. The negative publicity also emboldened the President's war critics, and it helped to put into question the President's committment to Afghanistan.
But .... if the situation goes south in Afghanistan .... expect General McChrystal and many in the Pentagon to be put front and center and blamed for such a debacle. Publicity and celebrity has its drawbacks, which for a General is always fatal when he has to butt heads against a politician.
