Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Obama Meets Embattled Top US Commander McChrystal

   VOA News 23 June 2010
   General  Stanley  McChrystal  arrives at the White House for a meeting
   with President Barack Obama

Photo: AP

   General  Stanley  McChrystal  arrives at the White House for a meeting
   with President Barack Obama, 23 June 2010

   The  top  U.S.  commander in Afghanistan has met with President Barack
   Obama  after  being summoned back to Washington to discuss comments he
   and  his staff made mocking senior members of the Obama administration
   in a magazine article.
   General  Stanley  McChrystal  left  the  White House Wednesday after a
   closed   half-hour   meeting   with   the  president  to  explain  the
   inflammatory  remarks.   McChrystal  had been expected to stay at the
   White  House  to  attend  the  president's  monthly  meeting  with his
   national security team.Â
   There was no immediate word on whether Mr. Obama will fire him.
   Before  his Oval Office meeting, McChrystal met with Defense Secretary
   Robert  Gates  and  the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral
   Mike Mullen, at the Pentagon.
   President  Obama criticized McChrystal for "poor judgment" Tuesday but
   said  he  wanted  to  talk directly with the general before making any
   final decisions.
   U.S.   media   reported   McChrystal   was   prepared   to  offer  his
   resignation.   Before  leaving  for  Washington,  McChrystal said the
   profile  published  in  Rolling  Stone was a mistake that never should
   have happened.
   In  the  article, titled "The Runaway General," McChrystal's aides are
   quoted  as  calling  a  top  Obama  official  a  "clown" and another a
   "wounded   animal."Â    The   article   also   says  the  general  was
   "disappointed" by his first meeting with the president.
   On  Tuesday,  Secretary  Gates  said  he  believed  McChrystal  made a
   significant  mistake.   Gates  also said McChrystal has apologized to
   him and was apologizing to others named in the article as well.
   A  spokesman  for  Admiral  Mullen  said  the  admiral expressed "deep
   disappointment"  about the comments.  The spokesman said Mullen spoke
   to McChrystal Monday.
   One   of  McChrystal's  senior  aides  has  resigned  because  of  the
   controversy.   Defense  officials say McChrystal's press aide, Duncan
   Boothby, submitted his resignation Tuesday.
   Aides quoted in the article also heaped scorn on Vice President Biden,
   who  favored  a  far more limited approach in Afghanistan than the one
   McChrystal  advocated.  McChrystal himself is quoted as accusing U.S.
   Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry of betraying him in a policy
   dispute.
   A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai Wednesday called General
   McChrystal  a trusted partner and one of the most important figures in
   the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan.
   On  Tuesday,  Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir
   Azimi said the Afghan leader believes McChrystal is the best commander
   the  United  States  has sent to Afghanistan.  The spokesman said the
   Afghan people support McChrystal and his plans.

   Â

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

.