The Generals, the War and the Rolling Stone

Yesterday morning at 9:16 am, the body of Benjamin D. Osborn arrived home in the North Country.

The Lake George High School student was killed, according to the Glens Falls Post Star, while serving in eastern Afghanistan.

This morning, the national headlines are full of apologies from General Stanley McChrystal, commander of allied operations in Afghanistan.

He’s apologizing not for the mounting instability in that country, or the rising death toll of American soldiers, or the slow pace of progress — but for his own loose lips.

Gen. McChrystal gave an extensive interview to Rolling Stone magazine — Rolling Stone! — in which he and his staff trash senior members of the Obama administration.

One Obama official is described as “a clown” and another as “a wounded animal.” Friendly fire indeed.

This incident follows quickly on the heels of another debacle with Gen. David Petraeus, who briefly passed out at a congressional hearing a week ago.

The commander of all US forces in the Middle East slumped down and had to be escorted out of the room by his aides.

In war and in politics, there’s a thing known as “optics.” It’s not whether you’re winning or losing — it’s whether you look like you’re winning or losing.

These incidents come at a time when confidence in our Afghanistan strategy is already waning, at home and abroad.

Funerals for heroes like Benjamin Osborn are becoming all too frequent, more than a decade after we invaded Afghanistan and President George Bush declared that the mission was accomplished.

For Gen. McChrystal to vent his frustrations to a journalist — did I mention that it was a journalist from Rolling Stone? —  is hardly likely to restore confidence, at home or among soldiers bringing the fight.

It’s also noteworthy that he appears to have scolded civilian leaders for simply acknowledging the fact that the Karzai regime is brazenly corrupt and dysfunctional.

Indeed, one of the key obstacles to peace is that America’s military lacks a credible partner, someone who can gradually take over responsibilities of security and governance.

Gen McChrystal — clearly frustrated by these facts on the ground — has acknowledged that his comments in Rolling Stone reflected “poor judgment.”

“Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard.”

The General has been recalled to Washington to explain himself.

Like all gaffes, this one hints at a deeper truth that the politicians and generals would prefer to keep hidden.  No one is sure what to do next.  There is no clear path forward.   Nerves are frayed, in Washington and Kabul.

President Obama should take this clumsy opportunity to speak once again to the American people, to lay out his vision for Afghanistan in concrete terms.

What exactly does he want our military to accomplish in Afghanistan?  What strategies and rules of engagement are appropriate?  Why is it worth our sacrifice?  And who does he think are the best military minds to get the job done?