• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Military / Braley says change of command in Afghanistan the right decision

Braley says change of command in Afghanistan the right decision

June 24, 2010 By Dar Danielson

Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley says the decision of President Obama to accept the resignation of the commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan was made based on the chain of command and not any policy issues. General Stanley McChrystal submitted his resignation after comments he made in a magazine article critical of the president and others. Obama has nominated General David Petraeus to take over.

Braley says the comments made by McChrystal and his staff undermined the authority of the president and “had the potential to endanger the mission that they were currently trying to execute.” Braley says he has had some disagreements with Petraeus in the past, but believe Petraeus has a long record of serving the country and is confident he understands the chain of command. Braley says he has had concerns about McChrystal in the past, going back to when Braley served on a committee that looked into the death of soldier Pat Tillman.

He says McChrystal was put in charge of the paper work to award Tillman a silver star and put that together and submitted a final draft of the medal recommendation, even though Braley says it contained no mention of “friendly fire” and “included the phrase ‘in the line of devastating enemy fire’ and was also accompanied by fabricated witness statements.” Braley says he has been able to see Petraeus in action in his handling of the Iraq war.

“I think that he has the respect of commanders and troops on the ground, based on my observations of his interactions with them. He has demonstrated in the past an ability to avoid getting into partisan political disputes, and focusing instead on what his mission is, and I think that will be a quality that serves him well in this new responsibility,” Braley says. Braley is a Democrat from Waterloo.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Military, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Democratic Party Bruce Braley

Featured Stories

Exhibit features lesser known works of Grant Wood

Testing finds 21 new CWD cases in deer

It may become a crime in Iowa to use fake urine in workplace drug tests

February trending 18 degrees below average temperature

Iowa House Education Committee votes to end tenure at UI, ISU, UNI

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

New look and new format at girls’ state basketball

Youngstown State takes action against assistant football coach

Iowa’s Jack Nunge lost for the season

Key stretch begins for #9 Iowa

Drake’s Roman Penn lost for the season

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC