Who's In Charge?

" death toll from two deadly bombings in Baghdad is climbing by the hour right now Iraqi hospital officials say at least 136 people have been killed. What's -- looking at his new cell phone video of the blasts that went off about a minute apart your government building that is just a few hundred yards from the heavily protected Green -- This is in the aftermath you're seeing here -- well this latest round of violence in Iraq comes as the Obama administration grapples with whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan. What's behind the timeline that summer criticizing as too slow while the infinite line president Obama's relationship with the military and the men who run it. Greg Jaffe is the military reporter for the Washington Post and also author of this new book the fourth stock for generals and their epic struggle for the future of the united states army. Thank you for coming in today thanks --"

" I think there's two things one is fit. It's really hard to stop these kind -- bombings. Especially if people are gonna go about their lives as normal it's almost impossible. The second thing I think. I think it says is that the insurgents or the anything to be targeting the political process and as long as there's uncertainty. They're fighting kind of over what the election laws going to be for the upcoming January elections. There -- openings here that -- in -- instance."

" During instability there are now on another front we're looking at Afghanistan as well. The situation there as everybody waits to see what decisions the president will make he said he was gonna be -- skeptic and and very analytical about sending any additional troops in harm's way there. The what do you think about his relationship with general -- crystal and how that may be impacting how he goes about making this decision."

" It's very different thing. President Bush's relationship with General Petraeus I think that's the first thing to know and that general bush is I'm sorry President Bush has relationship with General Petraeus. With a little bit different as well it was -- you know President Bush was a wounded president and whether you supported him or not. Hit a hard time making the case for more troops in Iraq. General Petraeus was any general who it. What the army sometimes cause a political general which it often as an insult but in General Petraeus is cases what and so affected. He spent a lot of time in Washington a lot of time with congress with four star generals as a young officer really -- in the central so how politics work. How to sell a war strategy. And so he was able to sort of fill the vacuum in the latter -- the Bush Administration was really helpful I think. President Obama doesn't want a crystalline plain apple and he doesn't want a general who's going to be the primary. Face of the war the primary strategist and as he suggests that I think he wants a process. But there's more debate there's more voices and that's what skepticism me."

" And something was made in I don't know -- was too much or too little about their relationship and about the times that they had met and talked. And -- general Crist levee from public statement says the president is now weighing this decision about his need for more troops -- his desire to see more troops there. Are we reading -- too much to what appears to be it's somewhat strained relationship."

" I don't know if it's it's -- it's different now. I think we definitely need to conclude that there. That his relationship with the crystal is is is not. -- hey I'm gonna listen to what crystal says and that's what we're gonna do which was very much President Bush's relationship with Petraeus. So it's unquestionably. A different one and whether it's that are bad you know I think people -- comments there."

" I agree -- the book looks very very interesting. Best of luck with it thank you for much for joining yet --"