Harry Truman summed it up best when he said that "the only thing new is the history you don't know." Apparently General McChrystal didn't get this memo. Neither did General MacArthur in 1950. Nor did General McClellan during the Civil War. (It's kind of hard to miss that all three Generals were Mc's or Mac's. Just one of those coincidences of history that probably have no meaning, but worth noting anyway.)All this noise will pass rather quickly, as did the MacArthur incident. (For the best account of that affair see Chapter 24 of "Plain Speaking- The Oral Autobiography" by Harry Truman with Merle Miller.)
Our Government is based on Civilian Rule. The Commander in Chief is the last word in what the Generals do or don't do. It's that simple. And I find it a bit amusing that the biggest complaints about the President firing General McChrystal come from the Right, who are ever so "vigilant" about safe guarding our Constitution. They seem to be unconcerned by McChrystal's actions, which are, of course, in direct contravention to the laws contained within that "holy" document, not to mention the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
And "holy" is an apt description of the Constitution. I have several copies on hand. Two are in Almanacs, one is in my Heritage Foundation Pocket Edition, and the fourth is on my flashdrive, which is always with me. They represent, to me, who we are as a people and what we believe in as a Nation. We believe in Civilian Rule. We are a Nation of Laws. I hope that former General McChrystal understands that now.
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