When retired Col. Edward Corcoran of Columbia, S.C., read the Rolling Stone article about his son-in-law, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, he had one thought.
"It was a lightweight article," he said Wednesday. "Kinda weak."
Nonetheless, the story, entitled "The Runaway General," had enough heft to blow McChrystal out of his job as head of the war in Afghanistan.
The report of McChrystal and his associates dissing their civilian commanders led to a woodshed session with President Obama on Wednesday followed by the general's resignation.
"I hate that Rolling Stone is getting the credit for bringing down a four-star general," Corcoran, a former chief of staff at Fort Jackson, said from his Northeast Richland home. "But when you get summoned to the White House, that's serious business. He had to resign."
That wasn't entirely bad news for Corcoran and his wife, Marie. Corcoran served in Korea and Vietnam. And McChrystal was known for going into harm's way, even riding on patrols in some of Afghanistan's hottest spots.
"I know combat," Corcoran said. "And now I don't have to worry about my son-in-law wandering around the streets of Kandahar getting shot at by the Taliban."
Read more of this story at TheState.com
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