Obama's Meeting With The General

From McChrystal’s Mouth to Obama’s Ear

By PETER BAKER
Published: September 29, 2009- The New York Times

WASHINGTON — When President Obama looks at the screen in the Situation Room on Wednesday, he will find a face he has not seen lately except in newspapers. There, via secure video from Kabul, will be Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, his commander in Afghanistan, explaining directly to the president for the first time why more troops are needed.

Mr. Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, made a point of speaking with his Iraq commander roughly once a week at the height of the war there, a habit that forged a close working relationship between them even if it effectively bypassed the normal chain of command. Mr. Obama’s aides said he relied on General McChrystal’s advice but did not feel the need to duplicate Mr. Bush’s personal engagement with battlefield generals.

Instead, they said, he receives weekly memos from General McChrystal and meets weekly with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Aides said the president had thoroughly studied the general’s report, and they noted that it was Mr. Obama who approved firing the last commander and replacing him with General McChrystal.

“The president signed off on putting General McChrystal where he is,” Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday.

Does he regret it?


I would say that the president values, General McChrystal's opinion enough to no go and visit him every week and make the general feel uncomfortable because his boss is coming to see him. Everyone knows that when the boss comes to visit, all must be on their best behavior. The general sends the president updates on what is happening in Afghanistan each week and the president meets with his advisors to decide what to do. President Obama has a lot of trust for the general to leave him with so much power, which president Bush might not have. President Bush did visit his Afghan-general each week, maybe to build a closer relationship or maybe to check-up on him because Bush didn't trust the general. I do not know for sure, but that could be a good reason why Obama doesn't want to do that with the McChrystal because he does not want McChrystal to feel unworthy of being the commander of the army over seas.