General McChrystal relieves Obama after his critical comments
Posted on June 23, 2010 by cristina
U.S. President Barack Obama, said Wednesday he accepted the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal as commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, as their conduct did not fit the criteria required for such high military rank.
General McChrystal is replaced by General David Petraeus, who currently leads U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a statement on Wednesday at the White House, Obama insisted that this change of personnel did not herald any shift in strategy on the war in Afghanistan and called his team “unity in the effort” of war in China, noting that no tolerate divisions at its administration.
The president said there was no McChrystal fired for “personal insults” but because his conduct did not fit the criteria required in the case of a general, following the publication on Monday of a Rolling Stone article in which the officer made comments scathing about the president and his administration.
On the morning of Wednesday, Obama was in the White House to General McChrystal. Both men spoke for half an hour alone in the western wing of the presidential palace.
The military chief, convened in emergency on Tuesday after the publication of the controversial note in Rolling Stone, left the White House shortly after 14h20 GMT Wednesday.
It is unknown where he was going McCrystal after his meeting with Obama. The general was initially participate in a meeting at the White House devoted to the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the presence of several officers personally criticized by him or his deputies in the article in Rolling Stone.
Prior to meeting with Obama, the general had met for half an hour with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the Joint Chief of Staff, Michael Mullen, a spokesman.
After having heard of the rude comments McChrystal, Obama estimated that overall 55 years had shown “little trial” to criticize his government, but said he would not take any decisions until listen personally in Washington.
In a delicate position, the soldier received support from abroad, especially NATO.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who spoke by videoconference on Tuesday, estimated that replacing “no help” to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan.
But Wednesday, after learning of the resignation of McChrystal, Karzai made it known through his spokesman that he respected this “internal decision of the U.S. government.”
McChrystal’s replacement, “General David Petraeus, Afghanistan is someone who knows, knows the region very well and is a great overall experience,” said Karzai spokesman, Omad Waheed.
Tensions between McChrystal and the U.S. Executive appeared the public arena at a critical moment in which international forces are involved in two crucial offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and suffer significant casualties.
This Wednesday, NATO reported that the death of six soldiers so far in June this year, recording 75 soldiers killed so far, makes it one of the deadliest months for international forces in eight years and means of warfare in Afghanistan.