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Top US Commander in Afghanistan Summoned to Washington

VOA News
22 June 2010

The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan is being summoned to Washington to explain critical comments he and his staff have made about President Barack Obama and other members of the administration.

In an article published in the latest issue of the popular U.S.-based Rolling Stone magazine, aides to General Stanley McChrystal say he dismissed his first Oval Office meeting with Mr. Obama as nothing more than a "10-minute photo op." (The phrase "photo op," or opportunity, is used when two or more high-profile people pose before press photographers.)

The aides also heaped scorn on U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who favored a far more limited approach in Afghanistan than the one McChrystal advocated.

A spokesman for U.S. Military Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen says the admiral has expressed his "deep disappointment" about the comments. The spokesman says Mullen spoke to McChrystal late Monday.

A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Mr. Karzai strongly supports General McChrystal, calling him the best commander the United States has sent to Afghanistan.

McChrystal's summons to Washington came hours after the general issued a statement in Kabul saying the profile published in Rolling Stone reflected "poor judgment" and was a mistake that should never have happened.

A spokesman for NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says McChrystal has Rasmussen's full support. The spokesman called the Rolling Stone article "rather unfortunate," but stresses it is just an article.

General McChrystal himself told Rolling Stone he felt "betrayed" by Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, who sent an internal memo to Washington expressing doubts about McChrystal's strategy of adding more troops to fight the Taliban insurgency.

Eikenberry described President Karzai as an unreliable partner in the U.S. efforts to defeat the country's former hardline rulers.

Mr. Obama agreed to McChrystal's plan to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.

McChrystal's aides approved of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who supported the general's plans.

News of the general's comments came as Britain's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan reportedly resigned. Sherard Cowper-Coles had been a vocal critic of the U.S. and NATO strategy in Afghanistan.

Britain's foreign office issued a statement saying Cowper-Coles is merely taking a leave of absence and will return later this year. He will be replaced on a temporary basis by the Foreign Office director for South Asia and Afghanistan, Karen Pierce.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.