Obama previewed troop request
Posted: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 5:22 PM by firstread
from NBC's Courtney Kube
Defense Secretary Robert Gates forwarded an "informal copy" of General Stanley McChrystal's troop request to President Obama late last week. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday that President Obama asked Gates for a copy of the request for additional forces in Afghanistan, despite the fact that the document came directly from McChrystal and had NOT yet been vetted by the military leadership and the chain of command.
Why step over his military leaders? Morrell said that Secretary Gates "saw what happened" when McChrystal's assessment was leaked and he "wanted to avoid any opportunity for leaking before" Obama had a chance to see the troop request. Typically, McChrystal would send his request to NATO leadership and to his boss at Central Command, General Petraeus, who would then forward it to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The Joint Chiefs would then provide it to Gates and ultimately it would end up on Obama's desk. The military leadership would provide their comments and recommendations at each step.
The troop request is now working its way through the proper chain of command.
