McChrystal’s Media Woes (UPDATED)

Max Boot "What on earth was McChrystal thinking, one wonders, when he decided to grant so much access to an anti-war reporter from an anti-war magazine? Michael Hastings’s animus against the war effort shines through every inch of his article. His conclusion is that “winning” in Afghanistan “is not really possible. Not even with Stanley McChrystal in charge.” Along the way he brands the counterinsurgency strategy that McChrystal is implementing “a controversial strategy” that is advocated only by “COINdiniastas” notorious for their “their cultish zeal.” When he quotes outside experts in the article, all of them express disparaging views about the prospects of success."

Commentary Magazine "If more Afghans do decide they don’t want us there, it will be because we’ve made it clear we’re not there to finish the job. Broadcasting that dangerous message is made far easier by pieces such as this one in Rolling Stone."

McChrystal's Offence  "Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct." Political Wire

Obama Can’t Fire McCrystal  "I predict McCrystal won’t be fired for that reason alone. It’s vastly more important to Obama to maintain the July 2011 withdrawal date than it is to succeed. McCrystal will be scolded, maybe even publicly, by Obama and sent back to do what the general and his military superiors must know is an impossible mission."  Jed Babbin is the best-selling author of, “In the Words of Our Enemies,”...

The Rolling Stone article: As bad as advertised  "That is the kind of revelation that either a commander of a theater of war saves for his memoirs, or resigns to make to Congress. During the war, however, the expectation is that all sides refrain from airing this kind of dirty laundry. McChrystal appears not to know that. Worse yet, these and other anecdotes from his inner circle appear to show that McChrystal either tolerates or actively encourages disrespect for the civilian leadership that runs the US military. "

Pelosi’s lame blame game: No ‘burrowed-in’ Bush appointees oversaw Deepwater Horizon

Washington Examiner  "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recently blamed Bush appointees who “burrowed in” at the Minerals Management Service for the regulatory failures that led to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. But as it turns out, not one of the officials responsible for overseeing the exploded rig was a Bush political appointee."  Via Beltway Confidential

Gen. McChrystal criticized Obama war managem[e]nt in magazine interview

Thomas Lifson   "The article, titled "The Runaway General," appears in the magazine later this week. It contains a number of jabs by McChrystal and his staff aimed not only at the President but at Vice President Biden, special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Karl Eikenberry, the ambassador to Afghanistan, and others.
"McChrystal described his first meeting with Obama as disappointing and said that Obama was unprepared for the meeting. "

Read the Article here.

'Runaway general' McChrystal summoned to Washington  "An unnamed adviser to McChrystal also says in the article that the general came away unimpressed after meeting with Obama in the Oval Office a year ago. "It was a 10-minute photo op," the general's adviser says. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was... he didn't seem very engaged. "The boss was pretty disappointed," says the adviser."  Hurriyet , Turkey

I confidently predict Obama will sack General Stanley McChrystal for his Rolling Stone outburst  UK Telegraph

Arizona’s ‘Papers Please’ Law

FactCheck.org "It's not just a mirror image of federal law, and allows some profiling. But, in theory, no more than what the courts permit already."

Democrats 'Within Striking Distance' on Disclose Act

Newsmax "Heritage Foundation legal scholar Hans A. Von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission, tells Newsmax that the timing of the legislation indicates its true purpose is muzzling groups that otherwise might freely voice their opposition to Democratic policies in campaign ads.
"The Disclose Act, also known as H.R. 5175, is written so that it takes effect 30 days after passage -- just in time to impact the November midterms."

H.R.5175 - DISCLOSE Act  "To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit foreign influence in Federal elections, to prohibit government contractors from making expenditures with respect to such elections, and to establish additional disclosure requirements with respect to spending in such elections, and for other purposes." From OpenCongress.org

Why Won't Obama Waive the Jones Act?

FoxForum "This, of course, is the primary criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the spill. While the president says he "will not settle for inaction," his failure to waive the Jones Act -- even if for the sole purpose of sending a message to our allies -- suggests he's not doing everything he can." Via Heritage

WH: Obama never told Kyl he wouldn’t secure the border; Kyl: Yes he did

Hot Air "Would the White House lie? Sure, they might lie about offering Sestak and Romanoff jobs in order to get them to quit the primaries. And they might lie about certain core planks of ObamaCare. And they might lie about the acceptability of nuclear weapons in the hands of Islamist rogue states. But surely they wouldn’t lie about a hugely damaging admission on a hot-button issue made during what they thought was a confidential conversation, would they?"

Oakland: More than 500 Block Israeli Ship From Unloading

Logan's Warning " “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory)."

The Incredibly Wonderful World of Our Sensitive Elites

Victor Davis Hanson   "I also heard that the reset button foreign policy is working, especially in the case of the Mideast and Russia.

"I did not glean that Russia likes us the more we sign one-sided arms control pacts; abandon the concerns of the Poles, Czechs, Georgians, etc., and assume that Iran will become a nuclear power with Russian help. In other words, if I were a foreign opportunistic player, and I learned that the U.S. was borrowing $2 trillion a year to lavish more entitlements on its citizenry while emphasizing that between 2001-9 the U.S. caused most global tension and was now sorry for it, and that outreach, bowing, apologizing, and praise of foreign cultures were now the norm, then I might, if I were one of the following, do the following:"...

The wheels come off the liberal juggernaut, but it’s still dangerous.

Fred Barnes "There are two time slots for passing [cap and trade, a value-added tax (VAT), and who knows what else.] ,both difficult. The first is between now and whenever Congress recesses in the fall. Prospects look bleak in this time frame for approving anything except the final version of the financial reform bill. The second is when a lame duck Congress, filled with defeated and retired senators and House members, convenes in December. Lame duck sessions don’t ordinarily enact major policy changes, but this one could be an exception."

Arizona GOP cutting anchor baby chain, no more “jus soli” their success is America’s victory

Collins Report "Selling American citizenship. The Marmara Manhattan hotel is offering a special new tourists’ package that sells American citizenship. It provides “an exclusive package for new mothers that wish to give birth in the USA”, which of course brings the extra bonus of an American birth certificate and grants the newborn child American citizenship."

New York hotel pioneers birth tourism  "The hotel, which is part of the Turkish hospitality chain, exploits the 14th amendment to the US constitution, which states that all children born on American soil “are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside”. " H/t to Laura Ingraham .

Obama's Thuggery Is Useless in Fighting Spill

Michael Barone "But the Constitution does not command "no person ... shall ... be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law except by the decision of a person as wise and capable as Kenneth Feinberg." The Framers stopped at "due process of law."
"Obama doesn't. "If he sees any impropriety in politicians ordering executives about, upstaging the courts and threatening confiscation, he has not said so," write the editors of The Economist, who then suggest that markets see Obama as "an American version of Vladimir Putin." Except that Putin is an effective thug."