“At Least McCrystal Was Honest”

Former Islamabad CIA station chief Rob Grenier calls the row over General McCrystal’s remarks a “foolish spectacle” and sees in it evidence of the impossible situation in Afghanistan. “The fact of the matter is that, given the disconnect between the military leadership in Afghanistan and its political masters in Washington, serious recriminations were due to start, and sooner rather than later,” says Grenier who does not think McCrystal’s comments in Rolling Stone amount to subordination and that the interview amounted to journalistic embedding with an army unit when “the hosts cannot help but reveal more of the truth than might seem prudent later on.”