Mac Owens, writing for the Foreign Policy Research
Institute comments on the McChrystal Affair.

Writing before the 2008 election, Richard Kohn, the eminent historian and student of US civil-military relations, predicted that "the new administration, like its predecessors, will wonder to what extent it can exercise civilian 'control.' If the historical pattern holds, the administration will do something clumsy or overreact, provoking even more distrust simply in the process of establishing its own authority." Recent events demonstrate that he was correct.

In late June of this year, it was reported that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US military commander in Afghanistan, and members of his staff had criticized top Obama administration officials. The story, published in Rolling Stone, quoted officers on McChrystal's staff making disparaging remarks about the vice president, the national security adviser, and the president himself. Gen. McChrystal was summoned to Washington D.C., where he offered his resignation, which the president accepted.

This episode illustrates that U.S. civil-military relations remain problematic. The real danger is not a threat to civilian control of the military, but the lack of trust between civilians and the military. This is a problem on both sides. News reports indicate that President Obama's civilian aides have been deeply suspicious of the military, accusing them of intentionally "boxing the president in" through a series of coordinated leaks to the media during last year's policy review. For its part, many officers see the Obama administration setting up the military to take the blame should the American enterprise in Afghanistan fail...Continue reading The MChrystal Affair and U.S. Civil-Military Relations >>