If you talk to a British officer or NCO about the strategic objectives of the end state, you’ll often get a spirited discussion that’s very well informed. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
President Obama had voiced strong support for the effort in Afghanistan during his campaign, pledging to add two brigades, which he did. But since the inauguration… the administration had signaled that the U.S. commitment needed careful assessment, and we needed to recalibrate the strategy and objectives. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
When you go through some controversy and you see your face on the news in a negative way for 48 hours… you doubt yourself. And your friends make the difference. They become a safety net that come in and say, ‘That’s not the case.’ And the relationships that you’ve built… come to the fore. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
My very identity as a soldier came to an abrupt end. I’d been soldiering as long as I’d been shaving. Suddenly I’d been told I could no longer soldier, and it felt as though no one really cared if I ever shaved again. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
If who you were was entirely based upon the position you were in or the headlines you got in the newspaper, or you had essentially subcontracted out your self-worth to the judgments of others, then you’re going to be like tumbleweed. You’re going to be blown. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
You’re going to find out who your friends are. Anything that happens in your life is one of those challenges. It may not be at the level of celebrity, but everybody’s going to travel that road. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
Trust is an amazing commodity. The Afghan people often talk to me about having to develop trust in America, because they believe that we deserted them in 1990 and 1991. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
I think every war certainly wears on national will and national patience, particularly a counterinsurgency. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
Any war or conflict you enter where you are likely to lose more Americans and expend more treasure is something worthy of very detailed debate. There ought to be a lot of skepticism. There ought to be a lot of discussion. Stanley A. McChrystal Read Quote
