Say it ain’t so, Joe: Not invited to the climactic Afghanistan meeting? Not even a phone call?
Speaking Monday to reporters at the White House, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama met Sunday evening in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs; Gen. David H. Petraeus, chief of U.S. Central Command; national security adviser James L. Jones; and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. He also spoke with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by phone. After the Oval Office meeting, Obama briefed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and Karl W. Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, on his decision. Gibbs said Obama gave the order to execute the strategy in those meetings.
Update: The New York Times has added this sentence to its online story of President Obama’s war cabinet meeting Sunday night: “Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. also attended.” I’m pleased this blog post was able to spur the VP’s office to spur the paper of record to get the list of attendees correct.
