Wednesday, June 23, 2010

McChrystal Arrives at the White House

Stan snuck into the White House and the meeting began at about 9:51 am eastern, according to Politico. Gen. Barry McCaffrey said on the Today Show that there are 10 people who could easily step into Stan's shoes, without missing a beat, which is good to hear. If there are 10 people, then someone more deserving should take over.
Hamid Karzai is hoping his pal doesn't get fired. You can imagine the boyish jokes that those two have made about the administration. Stan and Karzai's chummy relationship explains why Karzai has been difficult to deal with.
Obama should find out from Stan why it is folks like Stan don't think Obama is the real president. How did McChrystal feel so free to say what he did? Was it the alcohol?
Right after meeting with Stan, Obama will meet with his Af-Pak advisers (see Obama's schedule today here). Notice that McChrystal is on the list. Perhaps he's there to apologize to all:
Vice President Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense
Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff
General James Jones, National Security Advisor
Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor
John Brennan, Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor
Ambassador Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
David Gompert, Acting Director of National Intelligence
Leon Panetta, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Rajiv Shah, Administrator, USAID
James Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State
Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Doug Lute, Coordinator for Afghanistan and Pakistan
John Tien, Senior Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan
General David Petraeus, U.S. Central Command
General Stanley McChrystal, Commander, International Security Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan
Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (via videoconference)
Ambassador Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan (via videoconference)

Stan's arrival