Army Probing McChrystal Staff Over Rolling Stone Interview

[Richard]

And so it goes...

Richard

Army Probing McChrystal Staff Over Rolling Stone Interview
McClatchy, 3 Aug 2010

The U.S. Army inspector general is investigating whether aides to former Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal were insubordinate when they made a series of derogatory comments about top civilian leaders to a Rolling Stone reporter, McClatchy has learned.

The investigation comes as the Pentagon grapples with how much access the reporter who wrote the piece, Michael Hastings , should have to troops. Hastings was banned from a scheduled embed this September in Afghanistan for being untrustworthy, Col. David Lapan , the director of the Pentagon press office, said Tuesday.

Last month, however, the Army granted Hastings an interview with forces he'd embedded with previously in Afghanistan, saying it saw no harm.

The IG investigators have finished questioning officials and are completing the investigation, Army officials told McClatchy . The officials confirmed the investigation but wouldn't say who asked for it or specify what its scope is. The investigation began shortly after McChrystal was relieved of his command in June.

Maj. Gen. William McCoy Jr. said the investigation "is in review," but declined other comment.

Among those who've been interviewed are staff members of Rolling Stone, one Defense Department official told McClatchy. He spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing and can't be discussed publicly. Hastings declined to comment.

The Army inspector general can investigate whether military personnel have violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the military standards of conduct or Army regulations.

Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice says that an officer can face court-martial for speaking ill of his civilian leadership: "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."

If the IG finds violations, he must inform whoever asked for the investigation, and the Army will be compelled to respond.

Shortly after the Rolling Stone article was published, McChrystal was summoned to the White House and relieved of command. He then retired from the Army . That retirement took effect Sunday. Several of McChrystal's aides, who weren't named in the story, remain in the Army , however.

In the article, "The Runaway General," one unnamed McChrystal aide ridicules Vice President Joe Biden — who'd opposed the troop "surge" for Afghanistan — and another describes Richard Holbrooke , the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan , as a "wounded animal."

McChrystal is quoted as saying that the U.S. ambassador in Kabul , Karl Eikenberry , who wrote an e-mail opposing sending the additional troops, "covers his flank for the history books." A McChrystal aide calls National Security Adviser Jim Jones, a retired Marine general, a "clown."

McChrystal has never disputed the accuracy of the account.

The White House didn't respond Tuesday to e-mails seeking comment.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/08/0...tal-staff.html

[1stindoor]

Saw it coming from the cheap seats. The only real question is who'll pay with a forced resignation of their commission.

[Buffalobob]

Two thoughts of different nature concerning the article.

McChrystal was not my favorite general but he tried hard to do a good job and I always consider that to be a good thing in a person . His career got ruined and that is enough punishment for him in my opinion(and maybe too much). No need to rub salt in his wounds.

Total waste of time and money to investigate whether a journalist is trustworthy. There is at least one survey a year on how honest people are. Approximately 50% of the people tell one lie per day. Any profession that relies on running ones mouth is likely to have at least its share of dishonest people. All professions, including science and religion, have dishonest/untrustworthy people. I don't like them; but, its a fact of life that there are a lot of them.

[Dozer523]

It ain't over 'til the wounded are bayoneted; the dead stripped and medals are awarded to those who were 'mostly just standing around'.
It WAS a military operation, ya know.

[JJ_BPK]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

It WAS a military operation, ya know.

That is an understatement??

I think the next step for BHO/gates is to determine if they want to completely alienate the military by using firing squads on McChrystal's staff,,

or roll-over and ignore the problem(s) of their less than stellar military prowess, as published in the Rolling Stones News..


http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236

It is an election season, ya know.

[blacksmoke]

I found a lot of problems with the RS article. It reads just like the rest of the interviews of rock stars and celebrities, with foul language, shit talking, and attitudes more likely to be found in less educated groups of people. If this SPC has had enough power point slides to know not to speak too loosely in front of the media, I have a hard time believing, no matter how long this guy was around, that these career minded staff officers did not.

[Richard]

Wanna bet this will provide but more fodder for the legions of conspiracy minded bloggers out there...

And so it goes...

Richard

Award-winning Journalist Michael Hastings Dies
AP, 19 Jun 2013

Michael Hastings, the war correspondent whose unflinching reporting from Afghanistan led to the resignation of a top U.S. army general, has died in a car accident in Los Angeles, according to his employer and family.

Hastings, who was 33, was described by many of his colleagues as an unfailingly bright and hard-charging reporter who wrote stories that mattered. Most recently, he wrote about politics for the news website BuzzFeed, where the top editor said colleagues were devastated by the loss.

"Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians," said Ben Smith, BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief.

Smith said he learned of the death from a family member.

Authorities said there was a car crash early Tuesday in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that killed a man, but coroner's officials could not confirm whether Hastings was the victim.

Hastings won a 2010 George Polk Award for magazine reporting for his Rolling Stone cover story "The Runaway General."

His story was credited with ending Gen. Stanley McChrystal's career after it revealed the military's candid criticisms of the Obama administration.

Hastings quoted McChrystal and his aides mocking Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, over their war policies.

At a Pentagon ceremony for his subsequent retirement in 2010, McChrystal made light of the episode in his farewell address. The four-star general warned his comrades in arms, "I have stories on all of you, photos of many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter."

When he died, Hastings was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where Managing Editor Will Dana was quoted Tuesday saying Hastings exuded "a certain kind of electricity" that exists in great reporters whose stories burn to be told.

"I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours," Dana said.

Hastings was also an author of books about the wars. "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" was published late last year and details shocking exploits of the military overseas.

(Cont'd) http://news.yahoo.com/award-winning-...011045748.html

[MSRlaw]

Originally Posted by Richard

Wanna bet this will provide but more fodder for the legions of conspiracy minded bloggers out there...

And so it goes...

Richard

Award-winning Journalist Michael Hastings Dies
AP, 19 Jun 2013

Michael Hastings, the war correspondent whose unflinching reporting from Afghanistan led to the resignation of a top U.S. army general, has died in a car accident in Los Angeles, according to his employer and family.

Hastings, who was 33, was described by many of his colleagues as an unfailingly bright and hard-charging reporter who wrote stories that mattered. Most recently, he wrote about politics for the news website BuzzFeed, where the top editor said colleagues were devastated by the loss.

"Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians," said Ben Smith, BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief.

Smith said he learned of the death from a family member.

Authorities said there was a car crash early Tuesday in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that killed a man, but coroner's officials could not confirm whether Hastings was the victim.

Hastings won a 2010 George Polk Award for magazine reporting for his Rolling Stone cover story "The Runaway General."

His story was credited with ending Gen. Stanley McChrystal's career after it revealed the military's candid criticisms of the Obama administration.

Hastings quoted McChrystal and his aides mocking Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, over their war policies.

At a Pentagon ceremony for his subsequent retirement in 2010, McChrystal made light of the episode in his farewell address. The four-star general warned his comrades in arms, "I have stories on all of you, photos of many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter."

When he died, Hastings was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where Managing Editor Will Dana was quoted Tuesday saying Hastings exuded "a certain kind of electricity" that exists in great reporters whose stories burn to be told.

"I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours," Dana said.

Hastings was also an author of books about the wars. "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" was published late last year and details shocking exploits of the military overseas.

(Cont'd) http://news.yahoo.com/award-winning-...011045748.html

...Israelis with Kiwi passports spotted at LAX...

[Pete]

Must have been suicide - his hands were taped to the wheel.

[SF18C]

So, he got McChrystaled*????



I am trademarking that in case it becomes popular!

[JJ_BPK]

Originally Posted by SF18C

So, he got McChrystaled*????



I am trademarking that in case it becomes popular!

Not McChrystaled

He was Hagelated ,, bho is making sure the source of the leak is never found..

[mark46th]

" ...bho is making sure the source of the leak is never found.. " JJ

He is following Bill and Hilary Clinton's Modus Operandi. If they are dead, they can't appear in court to testify for the prosecution...

[MtnGoat]

I Love The Way This Article Is All About How He Did Take On Or Out A Military General. Not Much On His Death Or Crash.

[Paslode]

Conspiracy and Government Assisted Suicide

WikiLeaks @wikileaks

Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.
5:07 PM - 19 Jun 2013

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/347475869629022208

Glenn Greenwald ‏@ggreenwald

Michael Hastings' final article was on Democrats & the NSA stories http://www.buzzfeed.com/mhastings/wh...y-on-americans …

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/statu...29387559002112

[TrapLine]

It looks to me like you can mess with anyone but the Kenyan CINC.