General McChrystal Told Pompeo To 'Muddle Along' In Afghanistan, Leaked Audio Reveals [View all]

[DonViejo]

Source: Task and Purpose



By PAUL SZOLDRA on December 6, 2018

Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, recently told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he did not know what to do in Afghanistan but offered his “best suggestion” was for a small number of troops to remain and “muddle along” in the country, the retired four-star Army general told a small group last month during his book tour.

Although McChrystal, 64, mostly kept to a prepared presentation analyzing different military leaders through history during an hour-long talk in New York City on Nov. 26, he offered the surprisingly candid admission in response to an audience member’s question on the path forward in Afghanistan, according to an audio recording of McChrystal’s talk obtained by Task & Purpose.

“I met with Secretary Pompeo this morning and he asked me the same question, and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I wish I did. If I had a clever answer… if we pull out and people like al Qaeda go back, it’s unacceptable for any political administration in the U.S. It would just be disastrous, and it would be a pain for us,” McChrystal said of a potential drawdown for the war in Afghanistan, now in its 17th year.

“If we put more troops in there and we fight forever, that’s not a good outcome either. I’m not sure what [is] the right answer. My best suggestion is to keep a limited number of forces there and just kind of muddle along and see what we can do,” he said.

Read more: https://taskandpurpose.com/mcchrystal-afghanistan-muddle-pompeo/