Rolling Stone Journalist Says He Believed “Gen. McChrystal Was Unfireable”

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by Steve Krakauer | 9:03 am, June 24th, 2010

» 9 comments

With Gen. Stanley McChrystal relieved of his Afghanistan duties in the wake of the Rolling Stone profile, the occasional TV talking head has put the blame on Michael Hastings for reporting too much.

But Hastings told Anderson Cooper last night that he believed Gen. McChrystal was “unfireable.”

“I believed that Gen. McChrystal was unfireable,” Hastings told Cooper, by satellite from Kabul. “I didn’t think this story would have had this kind of immense reaction.”

Hastings said he doesn’t regret anything in the article, and the reaction he’s heard from soldiers on the ground has been “very positive, specifically relating to the part of the story that deals with the new rules of engagement.” (Although he did admit he wasn’t volunteering the information that he was the author everyone was talking about.)

Cooper brought up Gen. David Petraeus, and asked the follow-up: “Do you think you’ll get a chance to actually interview General Petraeus or maybe hang out with him anytime soon for a profile?”

“I’d love to ask about what he plans to do in the war in Afghanistan,” said Hastings – not answering the rhetorical question over whether there would be an upcoming all-access Rolling Stone article about Gen. Petraeus’ Afghanistan turn.

Most TV journalists have avoided placing any blame on Hastings, but there have been many who expressed shock at how Hastings was able to gain so much access (The Daily Show touched on this last night). This ignores Hastings’ lengthy record as a war correspondent. Others, like Politico, (initially) implied a more mainstream media member would not have put forth the same article, for fear of retribution in the form of declining access. The truth is, the article was so ultimately successful precisely because it was fair and accurate – no one, including Gen. McChrystal, disputed the facts.

Here’s the segment:

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AC 360, anderson cooper, CNN, Gen. McChrystal, Michael Hastings, Stanley McChrystal

MichelleF

Since we are talking about Hastings, I think this quote by him is important to include:

Hastings was asked if McChrystal had perhaps gotten the whole strategy wrong, but Hastings explained it was the President that didn’t know what he was really getting into.

“I think that ship had sailed last year,” Hastings said. “I think once the decision was made to do a counterinsurgency strategy, they had a pretty clear idea in mind what they wanted to do and I think this is quite interesting. I think this is one of the issues Obama didn’t really understand what counter-insurgency meant and when the military said they wanted to do a counterinsurgency strategy that that actually meant 150,000 troops. Obama thought he could get away with just sending 21,000 over and getting a new general.”

“That clearly – anyone who has spent anytime around the military over the past few years you know, you know how many troops they wanted in Afghanistan all along, but I think Obama was clearly caught off guard by that,” Hastings said.

Later in the interview, Hastings accused Obama of not dedicating a lot of his time into putting the counterinsurgency strategy (or COIN) in place. Instead the Rolling Stone reporter said Obama was looking for a quick way to fill a campaign promise with roughly a seventh of the troops needed to successfully implement the strategy.

“I think it’s clear that [Defense Secretary Robert]Gates and [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike] Mullen are big counterinsurgency fans and they sold Obama on the idea,” Hastings explained. “I don’t think Obama really put too much thought into it to be honest. I think it was a campaign promise that he thought he dealt with by just sending 21,000 troops and not really thinking about what that really meant. And that was clear even last August when, you know, Bob Woodward released that report of McChrystal’s strategy – you know that the Obama administration was like, ‘Whoa, what does this mean?’ And you know, I think anyone who knows anything about COIN – that’s what they call counterinsurgency, knows that it takes a heck of a lot of guys, a heck of a lot of money and a heck of a long time.”
valkyrie101

Yes, and now it is even more clear why we have a non-military commander in chief, Michelle. The general commanding in the field has a limited perspective of the overall picture. It is fundamental that you do not publically trash your commander in chief, the VP, or the chiefs of staff. Generals are given latitude to discuss their displeasure with an order in private with the joint chiefs or even with the President on occasion. But not outside of the chain of command.
libra blue

I don’t understand why BO is getting so much praise for this move. He is merely replacing his own hand- picked choice with Bush’s man, which says more about his incompetence than McChrystal’s. This won’t result in any change in military strategy or direction. It was done because Obama’s pride was hurt being insulted by his own man.

No matter who he puts in charge, these wars will fail or succeed based on Obama’s plans. However, I still believe Patraeus will have some problems following a plan developed by a community organizer and I am sure he will remember that Obama and Clinton chose not to vote on the Senate amendment condemning MoveOn.org’s “General Betrayus” ad and Obama’s opposition to the surge.

Does anyone believe that Hastings didn’t think this story “would have had this immense reaction”? He is just another hack looking for his 15 minutes.
MichelleF

Val, Like I’ve said, McChrystal shouldn’t have done what he did, but that’s not the point of the quote I provided.
temple62

You’re next Obama. I am voting against any Dem or GOP that publicly has supported this action. This narcissistic immigrant dodged a meeting with McChrystal last year and this told me that the “amateur” president elect was not at all serious about Afghanistan strategies, support needs or the troops. This man will never get my vote for any public office, he has betrayed that trust!
gobarbara

I think your quote actually demonstrates the author’s bias and manipulation of the story
TfT

This essentially boils down to left on left. McChrystal was an Obama support and a liberal. He was an excellent General and warrior. But I guess he trusted his fellow lefties from Rolling Stone and figured they would report the comments in a way that wouldn’t have affected McChrystal’s career.

Sad day for McChrystal….he shouldn’t have done what he did for sure….and he did the right thing by submitting his resignation for doing it. No GO should diss the CINC, under any circumstance.

Let’s recall how the democrats reacted to the resignation of Admiral Fallon after he spoke out during the Bush years:
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The office of Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, issued the following statement:

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) released the following statement today on the resignation of Admiral William Fallon as CENTCOM Commander:

“Admiral Fallon’s resignation represents a significant loss to our military and our nation at a time when our Armed Forces needs a strong, independent leader who is willing to make honest assessments of this Administration’s strategic policies.

“Admiral Fallon’s decision to resign is yet one more example of this Administration silencing our top military …
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I wonder of the Senator will issue a similar statement regarding McChrystal. HAHA

The double standards keep jumping out at us, and yet…..the media is still not making the comparison. I wonder why?????

General Betrayus has now become General Prayforus (see Drudge). The media now deem it BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT I SAY, that Obama has tapped Bush’s number one general to come in a save the day. This of course from the same media who though Petraeus was nothing but Bush’s butt boy.

HOHO HAHA HEHE
sapperbrad

General Petraeus is not Bush’s general , he serves the people of the United States of American.He is a soldier and he has been called to service by his commander and thats what he is going to do.When people join our great Army they earn the chain-of-command and how it works and what General McChrystal was wrong point blank.,If a soldier does the same thing to Gen.McChrystal the would be brought up on charges.People we have to remember the President is the SUPREME COMMANDER of the armed forces in American .No one is above Democracy!
Knowledge_Is_Power

Someone really needs to ask Hastings, I know Anderson won’t, about his MANY articles that he has written through out the years that downed our military, downed the Afghan and Iraq wars, and downed the way we were doing things overseas. You see he had a clear cut agenda when he went into that interview. He wanted dirt or anything that he could use to smear the military with. If they wouldn’t have said what they did he would have downed them some other way I am quite sure.

Maybe they also ought to ask him how he feels about DADT, he has also spoken out against that since he is in fact a gay man. He has written several short stories that were soft porn. One that was about two gay men traveling by train who hook up and have sex in a closet…it was very explicit I must say. And that little flick was tweeted a link to by none other than his best friend, Anderson Cooper’s producer Jack Gray! That little tidbit wasn’t mentioned on 360 last night either now was it. How do you think CNN got first dibs on interviewing Hastings!? I bet CNN won’t divulge that now will they?