General McKiernan Gets the Boot

Huh. Didn't really see that one coming. It wasn't like when that jackass Admiral Fallon got shit-canned after a controversial Esquire article proved his douchery. But, the senior commander in Afghanistan has been relieved of his duties by SECDEF Gates. WaPo quotes anonymous senior officers saying he did his best with the bag of dicks known as Operation Enduring Freedom:

Sympathy ran high for McKiernan among Army officers because, they said, the relative shortage of U.S. troops in Afghanistan had tied his hands in combating a deepening insurgency.

McKiernan "was running a very under-resourced theater and doing as well as anyone could expect," said one senior officer. This officer and others would discuss their views only on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the record.

Afghanistan vet Old Blue pays his respect as well. At least no one can say that senior officers aren't held accountable when the shit hits the fan.