Stanley McChrystal to Yale
AFP/Getty Images/File – Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal smiles during his retirement ceremony at Fort McNair in July, 2010 in Washington, … 
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was forced to retire in July after an embarrassing Rolling Stone article quoted him and his staff making disparaging remarks about top White House officials, is taking a job at Yale, POLITICO has learned.
McChrystal will teach grad students a course in leadership at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs in New Haven, which is opening this fall. He’ll be in good company: McChrystal will join John Negroponte, the former U.S. ambassador and former deputy secretary of state, as well as former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo at the institute.
McChrystal had been considering a number of opportunities from a wide range of places, from large corporations to nongovernmental organizations and even some wounded warrior groups seeking his leadership, sources said. And he will undoubtedly have a future on the speaker’s circuit.
But he's taking a different tack, at least for now, in agreeing to be a lecturer at an Ivy League school such as Yale, which seems as far away from the world McChrystal has known as a terrorist-killing Special Forces operator. (See: Petraeus downplays July 2011)
Many retired four-stars become consultants to the defense industry, mentors to the military or members of a variety of defense-related corporate boards. And McChrystal’s high profile most likely prompted curiosity if not fear within the White House that he would align himself with a Republican running in the midterms who would denigrate the White House’s execution of the war or its judgment in national security. (See: Petraeus: Iraq needs new gov't soon)
But that doesn’t appear to be McChrystal’s plan. The Institute for Global Affairs was just created last year after a $50 million gift from John and Susan Jackson. According to the Yale website, the institute will offer courses for students at Yale who are interested in global affairs and provide career counseling and placement services for students interested in careers in diplomatic service or with international agencies. McChrystal appears to be one of four senior fellows appointed to teach there; four more tenured faculty members are assigned there as well. (See: Morning Defense: McChrystal's new gig)
Yale University’s public affairs department was not available early Monday morning to comment on the hire.
McChrystal was forced to retire in July after the Rolling Stone profile portrayed comments he and his staff made about their civilian overseers.
Despite the controversy, McChrystal was given a hero’s send-off at a retirement ceremony at Fort McNair that was attended by a number of senior officers and officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Gates said McChrystal had one of the “sharpest and most inquisitive minds” in the Army, known for his intellectual appetite and disciplined constitution. (See: Gates staying through 2011)
But his career in the Army was clearly also defined by his operational acumen. “No single American had inflicted more fear, more loss of freedom and more loss of life” on American enemies, Gates said of the retiring general.
No comments:
Post a Comment