New book by Rolling Stone reporter who got McChrystal fired

 Michael Hastings is no doubt most famous for his Rolling Stone article on General Stanley McChrystal who was at the time commander in Afghanistan. The article contained caustic criticism by McChrystal of the Obama team and no doubt lost him his job.
   What Hastings most wanted to do was to criticize the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan rather than concentrating on General McChrystal. Hastings new book The Operators carries out that task at length.
  There is a long article here much of it consisting of an interview with Hastings. The interviewer often takes issue with Hastings positions but Hastings fights back. For example the author takes Hasting to task for criticizing McChrystal so harshly when McChrystal tried to restrict air strikes and was conscious of the need not to take actions that alienated the Afghan populace.
  Hastings does admit that McChrystal was a complicated figure but his character was flawed. He mentions the Tilman affair in which McChrystal obviously covered up the truth that Tilman was killed by friendly fire not heroically in battle. The interviewer notes though that McChrystal advocated policies of restraint, policies that many troops disliked intensely.
    Hastings takes the position that being in Afghanistan and the entire policy was wrong. McChrystal he pointed out wanted 100,000 troops, hardly restraint. More Americans and more Afghans died when he was in  command claims Hastings. For much more see the entire article.

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