US President Barack Obama fired his top Afghanistan commander today over inflammatory comments that angered the White House and threatened to undermine the war effort.
Calling it the ‘right thing for our mission in Afghanistan,’ Mr Obama relieved General Stanley McChrystal of his command after a 30-minute meeting at the White House and named General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, to replace him.
Gen McChrystal had been summoned by Mr Obama to explain remarks he and his aides made in a magazine article that disparaged the US president and other senior civilian leaders.
'The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general,' Mr Obama said in the White House Rose Garden.
'It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan,' he said.
Vowing not to tolerate divisions within his national security team, Mr Obama said the switch in generals was a 'change in personnel but it is not a change in policy'.
Amid harsh criticism over Gen McChrystal's contemptuous remarks, US officials had said they expected the general, the US and NATO commander in Afghanistan and architect of Mr Obama's war strategy, to offer his resignation and allow the president to decide whether to accept it.
With his career on the line, the 55-year-old general apologised. 'It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened,' Gen McChrystal said in a statement.
In the article entitled 'The Runaway General', Gen McChrystal himself makes belittling remarks about Vice President Joe Biden and the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke.
His aides are quoted as calling one top Obama official a 'clown' and another a 'wounded animal'.
A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he had hoped for another result but respected President Obama's decision.
David Cameron insisted the UK's commitment to the campaign in Afghanistan was 'undiminished' despite the sacking of Gen McChrystal.
