Obama shows McChrystal the door

He said he had done so not out of personal insult,but because a magazine article featuring contemptuous quotes from McChrystal and his staff about senior administration officials had not met standards of behaviour for a commanding general,and threatened to undermine civilian control of the military.

War is bigger than any one man or woman,whether a private,a general or president, Obama said. As difficult as it is to lose Gen McChrystal,I believe it is the right decision for national security.

I welcome debate among my team, he said,but I wont tolerate division.

Obama stressed that the change in leadership did not signal a shift in his overall war strategy in Afghanistan,where thousands of new American troop levels have been arriving in recent months among increasing casualties and growing questions about the progress of the war.

It is a change in personnel,but it is not a change in policy, Obama said. The President said he accepted McChrystals resignation with considerable regret,but called it the right decision.

We are in full agreement about our strategy, he said on Wednesday,expressing great admiration for McChrystal.

The news of McChrystals ouster and his replacement by the head of Central Command,the architect of the 2007 surge in Iraq,came moments before Obama was made announcement from the White House Rose Garden.

Earlier,McChrystal met Obama for 20 minutes after coming under harsh criticism for contemptuous remarks he and his staff members made about top administration officials in a magazine article that became public a day earlier.

He and Obama began their one-on-one discussion just before 10 am,after McChrystal had met with his bosses at the Pentagon. McChrystal had prepared a letter of resignation. Obama had said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday: I think its clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed poor judgment.

The article in Rolling Stone magazine quoted McChrystal and his aides speaking critically of nearly every member of the Presidents national security team,saying Obama appeared uncomfortable and intimidated during his first meeting with McChyrstal,and dismissing Vice-President Joseph R Biden Jr as Bite Me.

However,Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his half brother Ahmed Wali Karzai mounted a full-throated defence of General McChrystal on Wednesday.General McChrystal had proved to be the one American official most able to successfully deal with Karzai on a daily basis.

The civilian communications adviser who set up the interview,Duncan Boothby,has resigned.

In a statement issued by McChrystal,he said: This morning the President accepted my resignation as Commander of US and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. I strongly support the Presidents strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces,our partner nations,and the Afghan people.