Change of Command in A-stan: McKiernan Fired.

[A-Bear680]

This is the Time magazine take on the situation:
.
www.news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599189755500

There are lots of other articles out there concerning the firing & replacement action.


Basically Dave McKiernan ( a tanker) got fired after 11 months . He is being replaced by a two man team made up of Stanley McChrystal ( SF background ) and David Rodriguez ( former 82nd CG).
Some sources blame Obama for the firing.
I wonder what people here think?

[M4arc]

Given the backgrounds of both McKiernan and McChrystal I'd tend to favor the move. Sounds like a step in the right direction to me.

[wargasm]

It takes an SF man to command SF men.

[A-Bear680]

Seems that way to me , too.

There's a new US Ambasssdor in Kabul as well.
Karl Eikenberry has 2 military tours in country , but this is his first time in a State Dept job there (AFAIK , anyway).

www.wikipedia.com

Type in: Karl Eikenberry.

The New York Times described the choice of a career Army guy for the job as "highly unusual".

[A-Bear680]

.
Anyone else?

[Rider]

It seems like a good move by Obama to me. They apparently want to get on offense in Afghanistan (and maybe Pakistan too) and the SF general is more likely to be effective in that role. His background seems more suited to the rapid deployment of troops into hot spots and then chasing the enemy instead of occupying turf. Hopefully, it works out well and we can finally get Bin Laden's crew and/or get the Taliban back on their heels.

[Mjolnir]

Anyone find the timing odd; I mean with the shooting incident in Iraq?

[A-Bear680]

I think that this has been brewing for a while.

Among other factors-- the SecDef is a carry-over , not a noob appointment.

[RogerinTPA]

FWIW, they should have appointed an unconventional commander from the beginning. The war probably would be winding down by now. The ability to think outside the box is still an alien concept to the Big Army. Conventional commanders fail every time in the UW arena.

[A-Bear680]

Belated update.
McKiernan retired on 15 July , at Ft Myer , Va.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/news....aspx?id=55135

At first I thought the photo had to have been switched by accident. Quite a change in a short time.