WASHINGTON: The top US commander in Afghanistan has been summoned to Washington to explain derogatory comments about President Barack Obama and his colleagues, administration officials said Tuesday.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who publicly apologized Tuesday for using ''poor judgment'' in an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, has been ordered to attend the monthly White House meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person Wednesday rather than over a secure video teleconference, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. He'll be expected to explain his comments to Obama and top Pentagon officials, these officials said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen has told McChrystal of his ''deep disappointment'' over the article, a spokesman said.
The article in this week's Rolling Stone depicts McChrystal as a lone wolf on the outs with many important figures in the Obama administration and unable to persuade even some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the war.
The interview describes McChrystal, 55, as ''disappointed'' in his first Oval Office meeting with Obama. The article says that although McChrystal voted for Obama, the two failed to connect from the start. Obama appointed McChrystal to lead the Afghan effort in May 2009. Last fall, though, Obama called McChrystal on the carpet for speaking too bluntly about his desire for more troops.
''I found that time painful,'' McChrystal said in the article, on newsstands Friday. ''I was selling an unsellable position.''
Obama agreed to dispatch an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan only after months of study that many in the military found frustrating. And the White House's troop commitment was coupled with a pledge to begin bringing them home in July 2011, in what counterinsurgency strategists advising McChrystal regarded as an arbitrary deadline.
In Kabul on Tuesday, McChrystal issued a statement saying: ''I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome.''
''I extend my sincerest apology for this profile,'' the statement said. ''It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened.''
Mullen talked with McChrystal about the article Monday night, Capt. John Kirby, Mullen's spokesman said. In a 10-minute conversation, the chairman ''expressed his deep disappointment in the piece and the comments'' in it, Kirby said.
The Rolling Stone profile, titled ''The Runaway General,'' emerged from several weeks of interviews and travel with McChrystal's tight circle of aides this spring.
In the interview, McChrystal he said he felt betrayed by the man the White House chose to be his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. If Eikenberry had the same doubts, McChrystal said he never expressed them until a leaked internal document threw a wild card into the debate over whether to add more troops last November. In the document, Eikenberry said Afghan President Hamid Karzai was not a reliable partner for the counterinsurgency strategy McChrystal was hired to execute.
McChrystal accused the ambassador of giving himself cover.
''Here's one that covers his flank for the history books,'' McChrystal told the magazine. ''Now, if we fail, they can say 'I told you so.''
Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the US embassy in Kabul, said Eikenberry and McChrystal ''are fully committed to the president's strategy and to working together as one civilian-military team.''
McChrystal has a history of drawing criticism, despite his military achievements.
In June 2006 President George W. Bush congratulated McChrystal for his role in the operation that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. As head of the special operations command, McChrystal's forces included the Army's clandestine counterterrorism unit, Delta Force.
He drew criticism for his role in the military's handling of the friendly fire shooting of Army Ranger Pat Tillman _ a former NFL star _ in Afghanistan. An investigation at the time found that McChrystal was ''accountable for the inaccurate and misleading assertions'' contained in papers recommending that Tillman get a Silver Star award.
McChrystal acknowledged he had suspected several days before approving the Silver Star citation that Tillman might have died by fratricide, rather than enemy fire. He sent a memo to military leaders warning them of that, even as they were approving Tillman's Silver Star. Still, he told investigators he believed Tillman deserved the award. — AP http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...use+summons+gen+mcchrystal+to+explain+himself
Afghan president strongly endorses Gen. McChrystal
KABUL, Afghanistan Afghanistan's president believes that U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is the "best commander" of the nearly 9-year-old war and hopes that President Barack Obama doesn't decide to replace him, the Afghan leader's spokesman said Tuesday.
McChrystal, who has publicly apologized for using "poor judgment" in an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, has been ordered to attend the monthly White House meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person Wednesday rather than via a secure videolink, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
He'll be expected to explain his comments to Obama and top Pentagon officials, the officials said.
President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, said the Afghan leader thinks McChrystal "is a person of great integrity," who has a very good understanding of the Afghan people and the Afghan culture.
"The president believes that Gen. McChrystal is the best commander that NATO and coalition forces have had in Afghanistan over the past nine years," Omar said, adding that McChrystal has worked very closely with Karzai since he arrived and that "lots of things have improved."
Asked what would happen if McChrystal were replaced, Omar said: "Of course, we hope that that does not happen."
Karzai's half-brother, believed among the most powerful figures in southern Afghanistan, also threw his support to McChrystal.
"He is the first good thing to happen to Afghanistan," Ahmad Wali Karzai told The Associated Press. "He is active. He is honest. He does a good job, a lot of positive things have happened since he has come."
U.S. officials are seeking the support of Ahmad Wali Karzai and other influential figures for a security operation in Kandahar, the biggest city in the south and a Taliban stronghold. The Kandahar operation is considered crucial to the U.S. strategy to turn back the Taliban.
Obama relieves McChrystal of command Gen. David Petraeus named to take over troubled Afghan war
It seems like a political appointment. Kick McChrystal out, Bring Petreous in
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama ousted Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Wednesday, saying that his scathing published remarks about administration officials undermine civilian control of the military and erode the needed trust on the president's war team.
Obama named McChrystal's direct boss Gen. David Petraeus to take over the troubled 9-year-old war in Afghanistan. He asked the Senate to confirm Petraeus for the new post "as swiftly as possible."
The president said he did not make the decision to accept McChrystal's resignation over any disagreement in policy or "out of any sense of personal insult." Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the Rose Garden, he said: "I believe it is the right decision for our national security
Obama hit several gracious notes about McChrystal and his service, saying that he made the decision to sack him "with considerable regret." And yet, said he said that the job in Afghanistan cannot be done now under McChrystal's leadership, asserting that the critical remarks from the general and his inner circle in the Rolling Stone magazine article displayed conduct that doesn't live up to the necessary standards for a command-level officer.
Obama seemed to suggest that McChrystal's military career is over, including in his praise of the general that the nation should be grateful "for his remarkable career in uniform."
McChrystal left the White House following his Oval Office call to accounts, and returned to his military quarters at Washington's Fort McNair. A senior military official said there is no immediate decision about whether he would retire from the Army, which has been his entire career. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. With the controversy have the effect of refueling debate over his Afghanistan policy, Obama took pains to emphasize that the strategy was not shifting with McChrystal's outster. 'Not a change in policy" "This is a change in personnel but it is not a change in policy," he said.
"I strongly support the president's strategy in Afghanistan," McChrystal said.
With Washington abuzz, there had been a complete lockdown on information about the morning's developments until just before Obama spoke.
But by pairing the decision on McChrystal's departure with the name of his replacement, Obama is seeking to move on as quickly as possible from the firestorm.
So sad for McChrystal...... He might have said to Kabul before departure "Barray be-aabroo ho ke teray koochay se hum niklay" or something similar in English -- perhaps
So sad for McChrystal...... He might have said to Kabul before departure "Barray be-aabroo ho ke teray koochay se hum niklay" or something similar in English -- perhaps
So sad for McChrystal...... He might have said to Kabul before departure "Barray be-aabroo ho ke teray koochay se hum niklay" or something similar in English -- perhaps
KABUL, Afghanistan June has become the deadliest month of the Afghan war for the NATO-led international military force.
An Associated Press count based on announcements by the alliance and national commands shows 76 international service [members have died this month. The total includes 46 Americans.
The previous deadliest month for the multinational force was July 2009, when 75 troops were killed. For the U.S. contingent, the deadliest month was October 2009, when 59 service were killed.
