McChrystal's Fate at Risk
23/06/2010 Instead of appearing in a secure satellite teleconference, the U.S. and NATO Commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal himself is due to meet with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday amid speculation that the general may lose his job for disparaging remarks he made in a magazine interview.
McChrystal was summoned to the White House for a dramatic meeting Wednesday to explain himself, as Obama said the four-star officer showed "poor judgment," leaving open the possibility he would fire the commander.
In Rolling Stone magazine's profile entitled "The Runaway General," McChrystal aides mock Vice President Joe Biden, call the president's national security adviser "a clown," and say the general was "disappointed" by his first meeting with Obama.
McChrystal himself is quoted deriding the US special envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke, and saying he felt "betrayed" by the ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, who had raised pointed objections to his war strategy.
Obama's spokesman said "all options were on the table but Obama stressed he wanted to speak to McChrystal first.
"I think it is clear that the article in which he and his team appear showed poor judgment ... but I also want to make sure I talk to him directly before I make any final decision," said Obama, speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting.
U.S. officials said they expected McChrystal to offer his resignation and allow Obama to decide whether to accept it.
The stakes were high for Obama as he faced two unattractive options, firing McChrystal, or tolerating the episode and risk appearing weak.
The scathing article brought to the surface lingering tensions between military leaders and the White House, just as the US deploys 30,000 more occupation troops to Afghanistan.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama was "angry" when he read the article, and refused to rule out McChrystal being fired.
"General McChrystal has fought bravely on behalf of this country for a long time. Nobody could or should take that away from him, and nobody will," Gibbs said.
"But there has clearly been an enormous mistake in judgment to which he's going to have to answer to."
After issuing a groveling apology, McChrystal flew from Kabul to attend in person Wednesday's monthly war briefing -- normally a video-conference that he hooks up to from his Kabul headquarters.
"I have recalled General McChrystal to Washington to discuss this in person," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
"I believe that General McChrystal made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment in this case."
McChrystal issued an apology Monday and one of his media officers, Duncan Boothby, has already resigned.
The general had already received a dressing down from Obama last year over his remarks at a London conference in which he appeared to reject Biden's argument in favor of fewer troops in Afghanistan.
In one passage in the interview that caused dismay at the White House and the Pentagon, an unnamed McChrystal adviser says the general came away unimpressed after meeting with Obama in the Oval Office a year ago.
"It was a 10-minute photo op," the adviser was quoted as saying. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was... he didn't seem very engaged."
Obama named McChrystal to command the U.S. and NATO occupation Troops in Afghanistan in May 2009, firing General David McKiernan.
14 OCCUPATION TROOPS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2 DAYS
The uproar comes at a critical time as Four NATO occupation soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan, bringing to 14 the number to have been killed in two days in the war-torn country, the alliance said.
Two soldiers were killed in bomb attacks, another in arms attack and the fourth in another attack. The deaths all occurred on Tuesday.
London announced that one of the soldiers was British.
The latest deaths brought to 69 the number of NATO troops to have died so far this month and 289 this year, according to an AFP tally based on the independent icasualties.org website.
Ten NATO occupation troops were killed in attacks and a helicopter crash on Monday -- the second time this month that 10 service members were killed in a single day.
The US military has warned that casualties will inevitably mount as foreign forces build up their campaign to oust the militants from the southern province of Kandahar.
President McChrystal?
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
23/06/2010 Instead of appearing in a secure satellite teleconference, the U.S. and NATO Commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal himself is due to meet with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday amid speculation that the general may lose his job for disparaging remarks he made in a magazine interview.
McChrystal was summoned to the White House for a dramatic meeting Wednesday to explain himself, as Obama said the four-star officer showed "poor judgment," leaving open the possibility he would fire the commander.
In Rolling Stone magazine's profile entitled "The Runaway General," McChrystal aides mock Vice President Joe Biden, call the president's national security adviser "a clown," and say the general was "disappointed" by his first meeting with Obama.
McChrystal himself is quoted deriding the US special envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke, and saying he felt "betrayed" by the ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, who had raised pointed objections to his war strategy.
Obama's spokesman said "all options were on the table but Obama stressed he wanted to speak to McChrystal first.
"I think it is clear that the article in which he and his team appear showed poor judgment ... but I also want to make sure I talk to him directly before I make any final decision," said Obama, speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting.
U.S. officials said they expected McChrystal to offer his resignation and allow Obama to decide whether to accept it.
The stakes were high for Obama as he faced two unattractive options, firing McChrystal, or tolerating the episode and risk appearing weak.
The scathing article brought to the surface lingering tensions between military leaders and the White House, just as the US deploys 30,000 more occupation troops to Afghanistan.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama was "angry" when he read the article, and refused to rule out McChrystal being fired.
"General McChrystal has fought bravely on behalf of this country for a long time. Nobody could or should take that away from him, and nobody will," Gibbs said.
"But there has clearly been an enormous mistake in judgment to which he's going to have to answer to."
After issuing a groveling apology, McChrystal flew from Kabul to attend in person Wednesday's monthly war briefing -- normally a video-conference that he hooks up to from his Kabul headquarters.
"I have recalled General McChrystal to Washington to discuss this in person," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
"I believe that General McChrystal made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment in this case."
McChrystal issued an apology Monday and one of his media officers, Duncan Boothby, has already resigned.
The general had already received a dressing down from Obama last year over his remarks at a London conference in which he appeared to reject Biden's argument in favor of fewer troops in Afghanistan.
In one passage in the interview that caused dismay at the White House and the Pentagon, an unnamed McChrystal adviser says the general came away unimpressed after meeting with Obama in the Oval Office a year ago.
"It was a 10-minute photo op," the adviser was quoted as saying. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was... he didn't seem very engaged."
Obama named McChrystal to command the U.S. and NATO occupation Troops in Afghanistan in May 2009, firing General David McKiernan.
14 OCCUPATION TROOPS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2 DAYS
The uproar comes at a critical time as Four NATO occupation soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan, bringing to 14 the number to have been killed in two days in the war-torn country, the alliance said.
Two soldiers were killed in bomb attacks, another in arms attack and the fourth in another attack. The deaths all occurred on Tuesday.
London announced that one of the soldiers was British.
The latest deaths brought to 69 the number of NATO troops to have died so far this month and 289 this year, according to an AFP tally based on the independent icasualties.org website.
Ten NATO occupation troops were killed in attacks and a helicopter crash on Monday -- the second time this month that 10 service members were killed in a single day.
The US military has warned that casualties will inevitably mount as foreign forces build up their campaign to oust the militants from the southern province of Kandahar.
Why the furor over McChrystal?
Gareth Porter, as always, presents sober, informed analysis. The host Paul Jay on the other hand is woefully uninformed about Afghanistan and spews the same liberal interventionists nonsense that created the mess in the first place. This is not surprising since he seems to see Afghanistan through the lens of Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s racist propaganda flick Kandahar which he apparently admires.
TheRealNews — 23 June 2010 — Porter: The real problem is a failed strategy in Afghanistan
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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