Chain of Command

There is one small point of order that I would like to share with you. First, President Bush was focused on the security of our Nation as his number one priority. He spoke with the commanders in different theaters of operation directly and often. I am pretty sure that it probably made the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of staff, the Chief of Staff from the Army and intervening commanders nervous. He was a fighter pilot and was used to taking the grip on the throttle and applying direct pressure. There are some that will tell you that the Generals and Civilians in the Chain of Command were made a lot less important by direct intervention by the President.

Now, we elected a President that does not have a military background and is busy with his priorities. He is very quick to use the Chain of Command to control the activity in Afghanistan. I for one, don't want Barack Obama making direct day to day decisions and I feel confident that most of you don't want it either. The final word is the responsibility of the President and he will let the Military do their best and make recommendations.

I guess the point is that there is a Chain of Command in place and one that should be sufficient to make the day to day decisions. It is not General McChrystal's job to speak with the President on how to do the job. We are all critical of the President and this is one area that I want him to provide general guidance through the Chain of Command not "General" Guidance directly.

We can't have it both ways. I for one don't want the President to try to run something he has little experience doing. End of Message. Old Retired Guy out!

MUD