Gen. McChrystal summoned to White House

Gen. Stanley McChrystal recently gave an interview to Rolling Stone Magazine. McChrystal, who is the top commanding officer in Afghanistan, painted a less than flattering picture of the White House in the interview. McChrystal has been called to the White House to explain his interview.

Excerpts from a Rolling Stone magazine profile on Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, set to appear Friday:

“Even though he had voted for (President Barack) Obama, McChrystal and his new commander-in-chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked “uncomfortable and intimidated” by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn’t go much better. ‘It was a 10-minute photo-op,’ says an adviser to McChrystal. ‘Obama clearly didn’t know anything about him, who he was. Here’s the guy who’s going to run his f-ing war, but he didn’t seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed.’”

McChrystal has apologized for his Rolling Stone interview, saying that he used “poor judgment.” President Obama’s monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan with Gen. McChrystal is usually over secured video, but this time, he has been asked to attend in person.

“I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened,” McChrystal said in a statement. “Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard.”

The Rolling Stone magazine story, entitled “The Runaway General,” characterizes McChrystal as an outsider who doesn’t get along with many in the Obama administration.

Obama has the power to fire McChrystal if he feels it to be necessary. McChrystal’s predecessor, Gen. David McKiernan was let go when it was decided that the military needed a fresh approach on Afghanistan.