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Gen. McChrystal explains Afghanistan in drinking terms

February 14, 2013 | 6:55 pm | Modified: February 14, 2013 at 7:00 pm
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Photo - Mark Lennihan/AP file
Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal stopped by the Sixth and I Synagogue for a book signing and discussion on Afghanistan.
Mark Lennihan/AP file Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal stopped by the Sixth and I Synagogue for a book signing and discussion on Afghanistan.

Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal may have been briefly ridiculed for his top beer choice of Bud Light Lime, but that hasn't stopped the retired general from using a good drinking analogy. In a talk earlier this week McChrystal delivered at the Sixth and I Synagogue, the former head of the war in Afghanistan explained President Hamid Karzai's precarious situation as the country's leader.

McChrystal pointed out how Karzai is completely reliant on foreign donors. "If you've never been completely dependent ... go. .. to a bar, go with four or five friends and somebody buys a round of drinks and you don't have any money," McChrystal explained. "Second round -- you don't have any money you can't buy them, at a certain point your friends don't resent it, but you resent it."

McChrystal, who was signing copies of his book "My Share of the Task: A Memoir," said this comparison extends to the entire country of Afghanistan. "If you've ever been totally dependent on others think about how that feels and there's the position that not only President Karzai is in, but all of Afghanistan," he said.

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