Even if he keeps his job, it is hard to see how General McChrystal’s credibility will not be deeply damaged by this turn of events.
The Rolling Stone article exposes the poisonous ego clashes and personal agendas at the heart of the Afghanistan mission. Of course, ego and politics are constant bedfellows; no less surprising is soldierly carping about superiors. But when a journalist chooses to report it verbatim in a magazine, that is a different matter.
This must be set against the undoing of a talismanic figure. A palpable self-belief, so critical in a military campaign, has emanated from General McChrystal into the wider Nato organisation in Kabul since his arrival. The command structure, for so long a shambles, was reordered. The General established and implemented a clear counter-insurgency strategy by force of character. He made unpopular decisions to halt the tide of civilian casualty incidents that he believed were losing Afghan support. As recently as a week ago a report showed those to have dropped by 40 per cent, despite the increase in Western forces.
Yesterday General McChrystal’s deputy, the British General Nick Parker, defended the Afghan War in The Times with the words: “General Stanley McChrystal’s arrival in Afghanistan has brought a new approach and a sense of optimism to the International Security and Assistance Force. He has reinvigorated operations by focusing on protecting the population.”
The Afghan Government is deeply unhappy at the thought of losing the one American with whom President Karzai appears to be able to work. “It seems a great deal of energy is wasted on fighting each other,” a senior aide to the Afghan leader told The Times yesterday. “In the meantime our enemies are enjoying watching us.”