I don't normally read Ralph Peter's column in the NYPost, but it caught my eye and in reading it found it applied to this discussion: http://www.nypost.com/seven/09032009...day-newsletter

According to multiple (angry) sources, McChrystal -- our top soldier on the ground -- intended to ask for 28,000 more US troops. A presidential hatchet man directed the general not to make the request: Troop increases would be "addressed separately."

Worried about his poll numbers, our president's making a bad situation worse. He's given McChrystal the impossible mission of turning Afghan Flintstones into Jetsons, while starving him of means.

This violates a fundamental principle of the American way of war: Once the president assigns the mission, the commander must receive due consideration when he asks for the necessary resources.

Obama's message to McChrystal was "Just don't ask."

I don't believe the general's correct, but he has a right to be heard. Any decision about troop levels should be made based upon the facts on the ground, not politics. By playing along with White House censorship, McChrystal's allowing himself to be used as a political tool. That's not a proper role for any general.
All manner of issues raised here, for a non-American I do wonder why a White House "hatchet man" could direct the general's report being written in such a manner. I could follow if DoD or JCS gave such a direction.

davidbfpo