US President fires General Stanley McChrystal
Gen McChrystal himself described the period last year when President Obama was slowly moving towards the approval of the deployment of thousands more US soldiers to Afghanistan as 'painful'.
THE TOP US military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has been asked to step down by President Barack Obama after critical comments about senior administration officials appeared in an article in Rolling Stone magazine. He will be replaced by Gen David Petraeus, who led the "surge" in Iraq. In a profile in Rolling Stone magazine, Gen McChrystal and aides were quoted as making disparaging remarks about Mr Obama and senior colleagues.
The announcement that Gen McChrystal was standing down came after he met Defence Secretary Robert Gates in the morning, and then with Obama in the White House on wednesday to discuss the damaging article.Mr Obama said he had made the decision to replace Gen McChrystal "with considerable regret" but added that he had failed to "meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general". He said the article had eroded trust and "undermines the civilian control of the military that's at the core of our democratic system".
"I don't make this decision based on any difference in policy with General McChrystal... nor do I make this decision out of any sense of personal insult," he added.
The day before his dismissal, Gen McChrystal apologised for the magazine article, written by freelance journalist Michael Hastings, admitting: "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgement and should never have happened."
Afghan President Hamid Karzai had indicated he did not want Gen McChrystal replaced, describing him as the best commander in nine years of US military operations in Afghanistan.But a spokesman for Mr Karzai said on Wednesday: "We are looking forward to working with General Petraeus, a very experienced soldier who President Karzai knows well."
"I don't make this decision based on any difference in policy with General McChrystal... nor do I make this decision out of any sense of personal insult," he added.
The day before his dismissal, Gen McChrystal apologised for the magazine article, written by freelance journalist Michael Hastings, admitting: "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgement and should never have happened."
Afghan President Hamid Karzai had indicated he did not want Gen McChrystal replaced, describing him as the best commander in nine years of US military operations in Afghanistan.But a spokesman for Mr Karzai said on Wednesday: "We are looking forward to working with General Petraeus, a very experienced soldier who President Karzai knows well."
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