Jim Miller might have a point - I am not in a position to know

Worth Reading:  With the exception of one paragraph.  From David Brooks, here's that paragraph, followed by another that shows why the rest of that columnis worth reading.

General McChrystal was excellent at his job.  He had outstanding relations with the White House and entirely proper relationships with his various civilian partners in the State Department and beyond.   He set up a superb decision-making apparatus that deftly used military and civilian expertise.

But McChrystal, like everyone else, kvetched.  And having apparently missed the last 50 years of cultural history, he did so on the record, in front of a reporter.  And this reporter, being a product of the culture of exposure, made the kvetching the center of his magazine profile.

And so now McChrystal is gone, because his aides said the kinds of things almost all of us say about our bosses and co-workers, when we think we are in private.  (Nearly all of the "kvetching" in the Rolling Stone article came, not from McChrystal, but from his aides.)

(Why am I dubious about the first paragraph quoted?  Because some of it seems obvious nonsense, the idea, for instance, that McChrystal had "outstanding" relations with the White House.  And some of what he did in Afghanistan, notably his rules of engagement, may have hurt the war effort.  It may be that McChrystal is one of those officers — and military history provides many examples of this type — who is excellent, as long as he is not in a top command.)

- 2:26 PM, 25 June 2010   [link]