“General” on The Daily Caller

Will Obama stand up to the Hirsute Haulers of America? — CNN comes under (Katyusha rocket) fire for firing Mid East anchor — When is the RNC gonna get its stripper money back? — Oaklanders protest light sentence for BART cop by destroying Oakland —
DoD uses break-up language with military reporters — Now that he has lost his primary, the congressman would like to say a few words  (more)

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced Thursday the nomination of Marine Gen. James N. Mattis as commander of U.S. Central Command. If confirmed, Mattis would replace Gen. David Petraeus, who last week assumed command of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and would be responsible for U.S. forces in the Middle East, North Africa and the Arabian Gulf, including Iraq and Afghanistan. (more)

“The Surge: The Untold Story,” a short documentary film about the successful 2007 troop surge in Iraq, is set to air tonight on WHYY, a PBS affiliate in Philadelphia. While viewers will see a real war on screen, the battles that have been raging behind the scenes at WHYY have been interesting in their own right. (more)

More influential conservatives and Republicans have publicly condemned comments by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele suggesting that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable. (more)

A US House of Representatives panel has voted to cut almost $4bn (£2.68bn) in aid to the Afghanistan government after allegations of corruption. (more)

Washington (CNN) — President Obama has agreed to waive a Pentagon rule and let outgoing Gen. Stanley McChrystal retire at his full four-star rank, a White House spokesman said Tuesday. (more)

“The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road to either safety or ruin.”—Sun Tzu from “The Art of War.” (more)

There’s absolutely nothing that a corporate board of directors would rather face than replacing their CEO. Except, perhaps, having their significant other find them in bed with their girl or boyfriend. But when the profits, or more importantly the stock price starts tumbling, it’s time for the board to do what it does best: nothing. (more)

Imagine you’ve saved a year’s worth of overtime pay to book the elk hunt of your dreams. On day one in the Rocky Mountains you’ve stalked within range of the bull of your dreams. You’re in the sitting position, like Dad taught you when you were a kid. The wind is buffeting the muzzle of your rifle, and it’s a bit of a poke, but you’re confident you can hit the vitals of the 6×6. You squeeze the trigger … and you miss. (more)

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On Wednesday, the same day President Barack Obama ousted his humiliated Afghanistan commander, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs walked into the Oval Office with more grim news: The cap on the gushing oil in the Gulf had been dislodged. (more)

Since 2001, a dozen commanders have cycled through the top jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. Central Command, which oversees both wars. Three of those commanders — including the recently dismissed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal — have been fired or resigned under pressure. (more)

Of the many interesting narratives swirling around the Obama/McChrystal saga, the least explored to date— less than 24 hours in—the subtleties in messaging are worth noting. (more)

As military operations intensify with the summer heat, another fiasco emerges in President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan campaign. With a new strategy unfolding, the timing could not be worse. Public criticism by Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his advisers of the White House constituted insubordination. Within his prerogative as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president accordingly dismissed the general as head of operations. Personal insults aside, Team McChrystal’s criticisms are fairly accurate. However, it naively chose the wrong forum for expression and paid a price. (more)

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles, where I was taping panel discussions for the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episodes airing on TV Guide Network. When “work” means sitting around a table with Susie Essman, Rich Eisen, Dave Foley and Jo Koy, talking about whether sex is the ultimate consolation or if Koreans really do eat dog, as Larry David asserts in the series, I’m not sure we shouldn’t redefine the concept of “a job.” I was just happy not to talk about BP for a minute—the rest was icing. And for the record, alcohol, not sex, is the ultimate consolation. (more)

So should he stay or go, be fired or forced to resign? Because all commissioned officers serve at the pleasure of the president, Obama has every right to fire General Stanley McChrystal, either for apparent insubordination or over the bad judgment for which the general has already apologized. Little question there: No wartime commander in his right mind should have granted any reporter a solid month of apparently unlimited access to him and (even worse) to his personal staff. If he’s feeling charitable, Obama could just bust McChrystal back to three stars – maybe throwing in the additional duty of performing KP on the weekends for the next 90 days. (more)

Rolling Stone magazine published this week a controversial article entitled “The Runaway General,” that has created quite the buzz over the past 24 hours. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan, was profiled in the piece and, to his detriment, made several mistakes. Now, he is being called to the White House to explain the circumstances surrounding the article. In a critical juncture in the war, the president called his most senior commander overseeing 94,000 American troops to most likely reprimand him or ask for his resignation. (more)

Sixteen crude-sucking barges are back in the Gulf of Mexico working to clean up oil, but the Coast Guard is defending its decision to ground the vessels because it couldn’t verify whether there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board. (more)

The French president and the Prince of Wales have laid wreaths at the statue of Charles de Gaulle in London to mark the 70th anniversary of the general’s radio appeal to German-occupied France. (more)

The B in BP may no longer mean British, but tell that to New Orleans. The city is using a $5m cheque from the company to launch what might be seen as only a slightly tongue-in-cheek anti-British campaign, aimed at luring tourists who might be discouraged by the approaching oil spill. (more)