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Afghan President Says Firing McChrystal Not Helpful to Military Efforts

   VOA News 23 June 2010
   Afghan  President  Hamid  Karzai, right, tours Section 60 at Arlington
   National  Cemetery  with  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, left, and
   Army General Stanley McChrystal

Photo: AP

   Afghan  President  Hamid  Karzai, right, tours Section 60 at Arlington
   National  Cemetery  with  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, left, and
   Army  General  Stanley  McChrystal,  Commander, International Security
   Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan, in Washington
   (File Photo - 13 May 2010)

   The  Afghan  government is pledging support for the embattled U.S. and
   NATO  commander  in  Afghanistan,  General Stanley McChrystal, warning
   that his removal will hurt counter-insurgency efforts.

   A  spokesman  for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Waheed Omar, says Mr.
   Karzai expressed confidence in McChrystal during a teleconference with
   U.S. President Barack Obama late Tuesday.

   McChrystal  has  been summoned to the White House Wednesday to explain
   disparaging  comments  he  made  about  President  Obama and other top
   administration  officials  in  an  article  published in Rolling Stone
   magazine.

   Omar  told  reporters Wednesday that President Karzai believes "we are
   in  a very sensitive juncture" in the U.S-Afghanistan partnership, the
   war  on  terror, and the process of bringing stability to Afghanistan,
   and that any gap in the process "will not be helpful."

   Afghan  Defense  Ministry  spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi also
   backed  the  U.S.  general.  He  said  Wednesday  there have been many
   positive  changes  since  the  U.S.  general took command, including a
   decrease in civilian casualties.

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

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