The Hill reports that a Republican member of Congress is claiming that he was denied access to General Stanley McChrystal during a recent trip to Afghanistan:
"Miller, who sits on both the Armed Services panel and the Intelligence Committee, told The Hill that the Pentagon denied his request for a meeting with the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan
The top-ranking Republican on the Intelligence oversight subcommittee was in Afghanistan in mid-October.
"I wasn't allowed to [meet with him]. I was there for four days, asked to meet with Gen. McChrystal and was told I couldn't, although Sen. [Daniel] Inouye [D-Hawaii] met with him and Sen. John Kerry [D-Mass.] met with him," Miller said in an interview.
Miller, who is serving his fifth term, stressed that McChrystal was in Afghanistan when he was there.
"I said I'd meet with him anywhere," Miller said, sarcastically adding, 'that's OK … I'm just on HASC [the House Armed Services Committee] and Intel.'"
This raises a larger question about whether the Obama administration is trying to muzzle General McChrystal. White House aides opposed to the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan have been shamelessly leaking details of National Security Council meetings and classified cables even after National Security Advisor Jim Jones chastised General McChrystal in early October for publicly discussing his request and explaining why other options, such as a more limited counterterrorism strategy, would not be successful. The administration has rejected repeated requests, including from some Democrats, for General McChrystal to be allowed to appear in front of Congress to discuss his assessment.
Last month, the Washington Post reported that prior to President Obama making his final decision, General Jones said that the president would meet again in person with General McChrystal. "When the White House is ready, he said, McChrystal -- along with the U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan and Pakistan -- will fly to Washington so that the three 'can meet with the president before a decision is made.'"
President Obama told reporters in Tokyo that he would make a decision "soon." Does he still plan to meet with General McChrystal in person to tell him whether he is rejecting his strategy and request for additional troops?
