Nobody in the military respects Obama

Gen. Stanley McCrystal has been placed in a position in which a precious few high ranking military leaders have had to endure: taking orders from a man-child like Barack Obama. This particular man-child does not like having to deal with anything of military concern, and in fact does not believe that the military is a necessary tool in dealing with matters of foreign policy. Obama is still of the mindset, much like Chancellor Neville Chamberlain seven decades earlier, that he can talk hostile foreign powers out of their aggressive plans against sovereign nations. His intellect will rule the day, his words and words alone will prevail upon all parties at odds, and all will be right with the world.

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Accordingly, the decisions that are necessary in waging a war are incomplete, contradictory and delayed. Managing a conflict like the Afghanistan campaign under these conditions will of course generate some disgruntled comments, and not just from the command. Every boot on the ground knows that Barack Obama is possibly the worst commander in chief in our history. And the Obama jokes abound within the rank and file, from the general officers down to the lowliest slick sleeve private (E-1, for you those of you like Barack Obama, who do not know how to pronounce the word 'corps').

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Having served under three commanders in chief (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan), this author has also been privy to the disgruntled comments and jokes about the former top military guy, Jimmy Carter, during the Iran Hostage crisis in which Carter was completely ineffective and pathetic in his job as commander in chief. He must now be very happy to know that his legacy has moved up a notch, and is now only the second worst commander in chief ever. Barack Obama reigns supreme in that category, and will likely retain that honor (or more accurately, shame) in perpetuity.

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The only mistake that Gen. McChrystal made in this sad affair was allowing a nefarious publication like Rolling Stone to get anywhere near the command structure for comments. Dissatisfaction with incompetent leadership has always been around, from the Roman Caesars to the current general grade officers in the military today.

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The only situation in the past that even comes close to the disrespect among the entire military establishment of Obama today is when Nero was crowned emperor of Rome at age 16, and would immediately start lecturing the great Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo on how the military worked. This great general simply listened to this man-child rant and rave, responded 'Hail Caesar,' and marched on. But I'm sure the snarky jokes and disrespectful comments abounded in the rank and file, even way back when.

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When Obama fires McChrystal, it will not change the military's disrespect for him. It will only replace him with another general officer who holds identical opinions as Gen. McChrystal, but who presumably will keep Rolling Stone reporters away from the officer's club.