A Change in Generals, but Not Afghan Policy
25 June 2010
General Stanley McChrystal with Ambassador Karl Eikenberry at a memorial ceremony in Kabul last fall
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
This week, President Obama replaced his top commander in Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal resigned after a year in command of United States and NATO forces. To replace him, the president chose the general to whom General McChrystal reported. The Senate is expected to quickly confirm General David Petraeus to lead the nearly nine-year-old war.
The last president to remove a war commander was Harry Truman. In nineteen fifty-one he dismissed General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War. But that was a dispute over policy.
General McChrystal lost his job over comments made to and in the presence of a reporter from Rolling Stone magazine. The general and his aides spoke disrespectfully about several administration officials. The general was quickly ordered to the White House to meet Wednesday with President Obama.
BARACK OBAMA: "I welcome debate among my team, but I will not tolerate division."
The president said he had considerable regret in accepting the resignation of "one of our nation’s finest soldiers." But he said his responsibilities as commander-in-chief led him to his decision.
BARACK OBAMA: "The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system."
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