So Obama sacked Gen. Stanley McChrystal (or as Barry is fond of calling the General; “Stan”) today, pretty much as expected thus showing himself to be a “take charge” kinda guy rather than the dithering indecisive clown some strawman someplace thought him to be originally.
What was curious though was his choice of a replacement; General David Petraeus, who was CENTCOM commander and McChrystal’s former boss, up till this morning that is. Gen. Petraeus is actually either taking something of a demotion in accepting the job, and unnamed is his replacement at CENTCOM as far as I know.
The curious part of the decision Obama made in choosing Petraeus is just three short years ago Obama didn’t seem to think too much of the General.
Via Ed Morrissey and a hearty h/t to Cubachi as well;
Barack Obama managed an unusually adept maneuver today by tempering criticism over the cashiering of General Stanley McChrystal with a replacement appointment of legendary General David Petraeus, perhaps the most well-known and trusted American commander since Eisenhower. Jules Crittenden wonders whether we have only two generals capable of handling the assignment with the de facto (and voluntary) demotion of Petraeus back to field command, but the point wasn’t really capability anyway, as Obama himself points out in his statement. It’s about re-establishing trust and confidence, and who better to do that than Petraeus, the hero of the Iraq surge?
More-
Morrissey had two separate videos up, which I combined into one below.
