Gibbs Explains Why the President Has Only Talked to General McChrystal Once in 10 Weeks

Expect Obama to fly into Afghanistan after his trip to Copenhagen on Friday.
It will be a “surprise” visit.

“The president receives a memo every week from General McChrystal,” Gibbs said.
They don’t call him “Baghdad Bob” Gibbs for nothing.

olympics or us troops, olympics or us troops, olympics or us troops. seems we have a problem in washington prioritizing whats important, prety shameful

Jake
It’s got to be an interesting experience to have to talk day after day to someone who thinks you’re a total idiot.
The entire administration top down has nothing but contempt for the intellect of the US.

Obama close friend and right hand man Valerie Jarrett has a lot to gain from the Olympics, much more important then our troops, disgusting!!!

LOOK …..
GW BUSH was in the oval office for 8 YEARS. This Afghan war has been going on for 8 YEARS! Where was the pushing and prodding during those 8 YEARS? Why wasn’t DUBYA pushed to make a decision — during those 8 YEARS? President Obama has been in the oval office 8 MONTHS and people are demanding action now. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! Your arguments and criticisms are FLAWED and HYPOCRITICAL. Stop hating!

yvette,
But he promised healthcare reform by August, Gitmo empty by January, Cap and Trade by June, unemployment no higher than 8%, reverse all of those bad boy Bush security thingies that just keep on moving along. Not to mention falsehoods (I believe that is a term still allowed) like $50,000 amputations and tonsils being yanked out for no reason other than money. Insurance not to illegals (well, at least after they changed the wording a bit) no abortions covered (unless of course they are covered).
yvette – it is not hatred it is worse than that – it is trust. Obama is/has lost the trust of many people because he changes his story or just does not make a decision. He is still campaigning and that is not a way to run a country.

“GW BUSH was in the oval office for 8 YEARS. This Afghan war has been going on for 8 YEARS! Where was the pushing and prodding during those 8 YEARS? Why wasn’t DUBYA pushed to make a decision — during those 8 YEARS? President Obama has been in the oval office 8 MONTHS and people are demanding action now. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! Your arguments and criticisms are FLAWED and HYPOCRITICAL. Stop hating!”
Posted by: yvette | Sep 29, 2009 4:35:14 PM
Sen. McCain pressured Bush all the time to send more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“…Why wasn’t DUBYA pushed to make a decision — during those 8 YEARS? President Obama has been in the oval office 8 MONTHS and people are demanding action now. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! Your arguments and criticisms are FLAWED and HYPOCRITICAL.”
Speaking of flawed and hypocritical…. get out a mirror, why don’t you.
This chowderhead prez has had time to have a beer with bickering Bostonites; take 6 months to pick out a dog for the kiddies; go on every news show (except for Fox… he’s afraid of them because they won’t kiss his ring)to promote his agenda(s); vaca in the Hamptons; vaca in NYC; play golf and basketball with his chums; campaign for an insurance business takeover; go into the used car business; and plan to go on a Danish sales job to get the Olympics for his handlers in Chicago
And you’re Still thinking he hasn’t had enough time in office. PUHLEEZE.
And, Enough with the blaming things on the prior administration already. B.O. is heading into the final 3 months of his first year in office….. don’t think he’ll be able to use that excuse much longer.

“The president receives a memo every week from General McChrystal,” Gibbs said. Oh, well that makes it all fine then! What an idiotic statement. Did the press let this pass too? I cannot believe all the things this White House has said and done. The press gives EVERYTHING a pass. There are no “investigative journalists” left, just robots that release only what the White House wants released. Try watching the main stream news at night. They all use the exact same verbage like it was handed to them from the WH, and read it. Sickening!!!

Ryan, Just love how you cherry pick the comments to respond to. Serious criticism of the president’s lack of communication with his Afghan commander– you ignore. Serious criticism of the press for letting the ridiculousness of Gibby’s statement pass– you ignore. Out of left field comment about William Ayers– you leap upon and ridicule so you can trot out your views about “right wing morons.”
How about engaging the more serious points raised in Ms. Phelps’s piece and in the comments?

wheresmymoney:
The major network news organizations no longer care about the money…. they know they are losing business to Fox and other news organizations that have already realized that most people who watch tv and read the papers and listen to the radio don’t want to spend time or money to be fed the politically correct propaganda/indoctrination garbage that the major network news organizations are serving up…. The major news organizations do not care — they want to press their ideology. And, their ideology is exactly the same as that of the current administration.
Look at newspapers: Losing money, facing bankruptcy, losing readers; dropping circulation, and, yet, the newspapers stick with passing on the left-wing propoganda instead of presenting both sides of issues. Readers know propaganda when they see it… and they are not having it anymore.
The major news organizations have not been honestly reporting news; have not been merely reporting facts without commentary; have not been asking the tough questions that they would have asked a Republican administration; and have been unapologetically acting as though they’ve been in this administration’s pocket since early in the current prez’s campaign.
They don’t care. They figure that their reward will come when the government controls the news outlets too. Fools.

“they know they are losing business to Fox and other news organizations that have already realized that most people who watch tv and read the papers and listen to the radio don’t want to spend time or money to be fed the politically correct propaganda/indoctrination garbage”
ROFLMAO!
Because FoxNews is politically incorrect propaganda/indoctrination garbage and that’s a-ok.

I didn’t really see in your article where Gibbs answered the question of why there was only one talk.
I guess his answer is that reading a weekly memo is adequate communication?

Obama doesn’t know how to talk to military men. He is ashamed in their presence.

The key reason why General McChrystal has not spoken with the President, the Commander-in- Chief is the simple fact, chain of command. In the military as in any organizations you communicate with your superior/manager and he or she will pass your message up the chain of command.
Ask yourself, when was the last time you had a face to face meeting with the CEO of the company you work for?

Memo #1: Sir, Am in country. Have gotten better understanding of the situation. We need to talk soonest.
Memo #2: Uh, sir. We need to talk.
Memo #3: Hello?
Memo #4: HELLOOOOO!!!! ANYBODY BACK THERE?!?!

Ryan, didn’t say you shouldn’t call a loon a loon. I’ve done the same myself many a time, actually. But I was suggesting you might ALSO sometimes respond to more serious critics. Otherwise, it looks like you’re ducking them.
Of course, I realize that opens me up to charges of a double standard, since I post very little these days, due to lack of time (and the fact that there’s little new I can contribute to the debates, as it’s all been said and said and said). But I still read the comments whenever I can and you still seem to be a pretty constant presence on the boards, but usually just making snide remarks about weak commenters, not engaging in serious discussions of the issues.

Correction-Frantz FANON.

I don’t get some of you. Don’t the meetings with the NATO Secretary General today and the National Security Council tomorrow register with you folks? Doesn’t the fact that the President supports General McCrystal and signed off on putting him, with his experience, in the position he’s now in register with you folks? Did you not hear what Gates and Clinton said on the Sunday morning talk shows? Do you not care? Haven’t you read that McCrystal himself denies a rift and supports debate? I know we’ve become a culture that thrives on instant gratification, but give them more than a NY minute to deliberate, strategize and assess.

I’ve been reading all the responses and some of them just crack me up. “Obama meets regularly with the military chain of command.”
Barack H. Obama is the President of the United States of America. He is not some bodies boy.

WHICH IS JUST MORE BULL!!!

I don’t get some of you. Don’t the meetings with the NATO Secretary General today and the National Security Council tomorrow register with you folks? Doesn’t the fact that the President supports General McCrystal and signed off on putting him, with his experience, in the position he’s now in register with you folks? Did you not hear what Gates and Clinton said on the Sunday morning talk shows? Do you not care? Haven’t you read that McCrystal himself denies a rift and supports debate? I know we’ve become a culture that thrives on instant gratification, but give them more than a NY minute to deliberate, strategize and assess.
Posted by: Alyson | Sep 29, 2009 11:30:34 PM
*****************
I don’t get you. There’s been a sense of urgency with every proposed legislation – and don’t try to deny it. None of this legislation is LIFE AND DEATH. But the situation in Afghanistan is. You obviously don’t understand priorities. But Americans do and can see this self-serving president trying to accomplish his own agenda first (i.e. olympics, health care) before he worries about our American soldiers. You can spin this one in your liberal favor.

LS | Sep 30, 2009 12:29:21 AM
“I wish [obama] had taken some time to read a few good books and guides for administration. It could have been a very helpful use of his time before he sworn in! His inexperience is underwhelming!”
He should have read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by Schirer. He would have gotten a lesson on how the Iran of that time played the allies before setting out on the conquest of Europe, and had most Americans read it before BHO was elected, would have seen the very tactics in propaganda he’s using to deceive the masses, a la Goebbels…

-Because you want to railroad the Prez into making a rash decision?-
Hey, we’re not talking about passing healthcare “reform” in time shorter that it took to chose a dog, right? Yeah, railroading… People are getting killed and not just Americans. A decision needs to be made and soon. The Olympics are a distant 2nd place. Give the damn games to Rio. More important stuff is going on, or haven’t you noticed?

Waiting,
I support your statements except to the extent that you think the Olympics are a distant 2nd place priority….. Try 115th, maybe 116th. But then again, although the priority is very low for the country, Obama’s Chicago handlers out here have set the priority at #1 for Chicago politicians. He must do their bidding; they pull the strings.

Posted by: lfrichar | Sep 30, 2009 11:30:10 AM
Well, take exception to my view if you wish, BUT I stand very strongly by taking McCrystal’s view (he supports debate as long as it doesn’t go on too long), Gates’ view, Clinton’s view, General Jones’ view, Colin Powell’s view,and NATO’s view much more seriously than yours or that of Fox News talking heads. Colin Powell, as it turns out, is one of the people talking to the president on this issue, as is John McCain. My understanding is that they have opposite views, which gives me some pause. Do you realize how long these things take, even under Republican presidencies? I think Gates said it took three months to decide to go forward with the surge in Iraq. To me the important thing to consider is that Obama wanted an assessment, and in addition to the request for troops the response he got was that things were worse than McCrystal had expected. IMO, that’s worth talking about. Given things are worse than expected, what are the options? We’ll see how it turns out, but I do think the noisy anti-Obama folks on these boards are wrong about him giving more weight to the Olympics and other ridiculous claims. They tend to shriek about everything, without taking a moment to digest anything or consider all sides of it. Perhaps, Obama was wrong about Afghanistan and he’s man enough to admit it and change course. Perhaps not. Both Afghanistan and Iran represent excruciating sets of choices. I, for one, feel better knowing rash decisions aren’t being made.
All that being said, if this goes beyond another month– four weeks– I’m with you–I think it has to go at least past October 7th when the final results of the Afghan election are known, and that makes sense to me, and then swift decisions will need to be made, given all the information.

Obama does not want to do Bush era neoconservative nation building. The nation building that Bush did in afganistan includded little more then giving pipeline access to karzai. And it looks like that government has rigged the last election. I am not sure why we want to and are backing Karzai to be honest. I dont know why we would add 40,000 troups to protect the karzai government.
If we are going to send 40,000 troups those troups should be going directly to finding Bin Laden and his closest advisors who are most likely in Pakistan. But that is not what McCrystal’s plan is for. His plan is for an increased presence in the larger cities of Afganistan (where Bin Laden is not). So I am not sure why we would want to follow that strategy. It is not the strategy that I thought we were going to get when i voted for Obama. And Obama is the Command And Chief not mccrystal.