McChrystal apologises for Rolling Stone article

NATO statement: “It is just an article”

General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan today issued a pre-emptive apology for criticising Barack Obama’s administration in a profile due to be published later this week by Rolling Stone magazine.

In the article, which was widely leaked in Washington, McChrystal is portrayed as mocking top US officials involved in Afghanistan policy. "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile," McChrystal said in a statement issued by his office in Kabul. "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened."

"Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity," he said. "What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard." He also said he had "enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team."

In Brussels, NATO rushed to shore up McChrystal, who is currently preparing the latest military offensive in the key southern province of Kandahar. "The Rolling Stone article is rather unfortunate, but it is just an article. We are in the middle of a very real conflict, and the Secretary General has full confidence in General McChrystal as the NATO commander, and in his strategy," a NATO spokesman said.

Reports on the article suggested that McChrystal had personally criticised US Vice President Joe Biden, US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry.

McChrystal aides interviewed for the report also reportedly criticised President Barack Obama and his national security advisor, Jim Jones. Obama agreed to deploy an extra 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan but only after months of deliberations that many in the military found frustrating. The troop surge was coupled with a pledge to begin bringing them home in July 2011, setting what some strategists regarded as an arbitrary deadline.

The error of judgment by Gen. McChrystal comes on top of other political disagreements within NATO capitals and mounting casualties. On Monday, 10 NATO troops were killed in attacks and a helicopter crash in Afghanistan bringing the death toll to 285 so far this year. And as the total number of British troop deaths reached 300, the country’s top envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles was taking "extended leave" from his post amid reports that he believed the "military-driven counterinsurgency effort was headed for failure". And more unwelcome news came in a US congressional report that said the US military had been giving tens of millions of dollars to Afghan security firms who were channelling the money to warlords. The report, ‘Warlord, Inc.: Extortion and Corruption Along the U.S. Supply Chain in Afghanistan’ is available here.