President Barack Obama announced today that he has accepted the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal after a rapid series of events set off by a Rolling Stone article this week.
The Rolling article entitled, “The Runaway General,” set to hit newsstands Friday, is a lengthy feature on McChrystal and the Afghanistan conflict. Comments made by McChrystal and his aides in the article include a sarcastic “Bite Me” reference to Vice President Joe Biden and a generally disparaging attitude towards the administration, which did not sit well with Obama.
An advance copy of the article made its way to the White House Monday evening, where Obama grew visibly angry as he read it, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
McChrystal Called to Washington
Obama expressed his dissatisfaction and desire for action with several rounds of meetings Monday night and quickly summoned McChrystal from Afghanistan to Washington. McChrystal, who flew out of Afghanistan Tuesday afternoon, arrived at the White House Wednesday morning for a private audience with the president. In a meeting that lasted less than half an hour, McChrystal tendered his resignation and left by a below-ground exit.
After a short meeting with Gen. David Petraeus in which Obama offered him command of the Afghanistan War, the president announced in a press conference that he had accepted General McChrystal’s resignation and appointed Petraeus to take his place.
President announces McChrystal’s resignation
While Obama expressed respect for McChrystal, he said that his conduct “undermines the civilian control of the military” and “erodes the trust that’s necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan.” The president denied that the decision represented any disagreement with McChrystal over strategy, and said the change was one of personnel, not policy.
The Rolling Stone article claims that McChrystal and the president “failed from the outset to connect” although McChrystal was one of the few military leaders to vote for Obama. The article highlighted several disagreements between the two, and said, perhaps prophetically, that “by some accounts, McChrystal’s career should have been over at least two times by now.”
McChrystal apologized for his part in the profile Tuesday saying in his statement that “it was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened.” His personal apology, phoned to Biden aboard Air Force Two, arrived before the vice president or his team were even aware of the brewing controversy.
Commentators wonder about decision
Author Anne Coulter, interviewed Wednesday on Fox New’s Hannity, said McChrystal should never have talked to Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings, who traveled with the general’s inner circle for several weeks. She called Obama’s acceptance of McChrystal’s resignation “the right decision for the wrong reason,” but called the president “thin-skinned.” Hannity also noted that the offensive portions of the article were mostly secondhand comments made by McChrystal’s aides.
The president is seeking a quick Senate confirmation of Gen. Petraeus to take command in Afghanistan.
