This has happened before -- during the Bush administration -- when military brass came out publicly against the policies of their colleagues. Generals vs. generals.
Ambassador Eikenberry of the leaked memos is also General Eikenberry, an old friend and colleague of Stanley McCrystal.
That's where the battle is now: Ambassador/General Eikenberry vs. the Pentagon and General McChrystal. The battle has a parallel within the White House and among the President's advisers.
Note that the State Department and Hillary Clinton -- who favors a troop surge -- are engaged in trying to undermine Ambassador Eikenberry.
General Eikenberry’s reluctance on additional troops would seem to put him at odds not only with General McChrystal but also with Mr. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who have been coalescing around a plan to send roughly 30,000 troops, according to officials. The State Department has declined to comment on General Eikenberry’s cables, saying that his advice and that of Mrs. Clinton were confidential.
General Eikenberry, who holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford, has long been a controversial figure in the military, with some faulting his management style as high-handed.
The State Department’s inspector general is doing an investigation of the embassy in Kabul that has involved asking employees about General Eikenberry’s management style. But officials said the audit was routine, and focused on issues like the heavy workload of employees.
