When the wheels are coming off, it doesn’t do much good to change the driver.
Whatever the name of the commanding general in Afghanistan, the U.S. war effort will continue its carnage and futility.

Between the lines, some news accounts are implying as much. Hours before Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s meeting with President Obama on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that “the firestorm was fueled by increasing doubts -- even in the military -- that Afghanistan can be won and by crumbling public support for the nine-year war as American casualties rise.”

It now does McChrystal little good that news media have trumpeted everything from his Spartan personal habits (scarcely eats or sleeps) to his physical stamina (runs a lot) to his steel-trap alloy of military smarts and scholarship (reads history). Any individual is expendable.

"If Americans pulled back and started paying attention to this war, it would become even less popular," a senior adviser to Gen. Stanley McChrystal says in a recent Rolling Stone magazine article called “The Runaway General.”

The article quotes Gen. McChrystal and his staff criticizing President Obama and disparaging civilian leadership, revealing deep divides within the National Security Council. It has resulted in the general’s removal as Commander for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. But dismissing Gen. McChrystal addresses the symptom, not the disease. A change in command won’t end the war only a change in strategy will, and that starts with the President.

Take action now.

Call your Representative and tell them that you support an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Ask them to co-sponsor the McGovern exit strategy bill, H.R. 5015, and to urge other Representatives to co-sponsor the bill.

Wage peace!

Call Patrick 'Pat' J. Tiberi (202) 225-5355 now. Tell them you want an exit strategy for Afghanistan.

President Obama must fire General Stanley McChrystal and get out of Afghanistan....for starters.

There is much more at stake here than meets the eye.

History is full of generals with deep contempt for democracy.

General McChrystal has a very particular significance. Last year, as Obama weighed the Afghan situation, McChrystal circumvented him entirely. In an act of profound public contempt, the general went directly to the world media with a high-profile campaign that was entirely inappropriate to a civilian democracy.

He should have been fired right then and there.

But McChrystal used the brass on his chest to sell the nation a bill of goods---that the war in Afghanistan could be "won." It would be "difficult," of course, requiring "sacrifice."

But exactly what "victory" meant, and how that would make the United States safer, more just and prosperous, was never clear.

What WAS clear was who would die and who would pay.

Effective activism’s a long-haul process, not “save the earth in 30 days, ask me how.” But there are some principles that seem to reoccur for people addressing every kind of challenge from the Gulf Oil spill to inadequate funding for urban schools to how to deal with Afghanistan and Iraq. When I was updating Soul of a Citizen, an activist rabbi who was teaching the book at Florida Gulf Coast University suggested I gather together the Ten Commandments for effective citizen engagement. Calling them Commandments seemed a bit presumptuous, but I did draw together ten suggestions that can make engagement more fruitful. Some I’ve already explored in various Soul of a Citizen excerpts. I’ll explore others in coming weeks, but pulling them together in one place seemed useful.

Suggestion #1: Start where you are. You don’t need to know everything, and you certainly don’t need to be perfect.

Suggestion #2: Take things step by step. You set the pace of your engagement. Don’t worry about being swallowed up, because you’ll determine how much you get involved.