Why do generals have entourages?

The Rolling Stone article about the gaffe-prone, image-hungry Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, raised exactly that question for me, because it made me think back to Gen. David Petraeus' testimony to Congress a week ago, where he fell a bit ill and had members of his entourage, including a de facto "agent" (like sports star or actor agents) speaking for him. Along those lines, if you don't have time to read the full RS article, in snippet posts here and here, Atlantic Monthly summarizes how the prima donna level of American brass hats has entered a whole new level.

Beyond showing McChrystal the politician, the fact that even he calls Marjah a "bleeding ulcer" shows that, well, he just wasn't right about counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Perhaps that's why he needs an entourage — to prop up his image.

That said, this whole idea smacks, if but vaguely, of Caesarism. Obama should have first, sacked McC when he first was quasi-insubordinate, and second, come up with a different plan for Afghanistan.

That said, I see one inaccuracy in the RS article right off the bat. German President Horst Koehler was not "forced" to resign over Afghanistan. Even though he was a bit outspoken for holding a ceremonial position, the whole idea of a president in a fully parliamentary democracy is that, barring something truly beyond the pale, he or she can't be forced to resign. And, Koehler chose to step down.