General McChrystal Clearly in Four-Star Trouble

AP

There are echoes of President Lincoln and General McClellan and of President Truman and General MacArthur as General Stanley McChrystal is summoned back to Washington to explain controversial comments about President Obama and key administration officials.

It's unclear whether McChrystal will meet the same fate as his military predecessors, but he is clearly in four-star trouble.

The White House is simmering over his comments in a Rolling Stone Magazine interview. And the controversy dominated headlines on a day when the White House had hoped to spotlight one of the president's top domestic achievements, health insurance reform as Mr. Obama held a mid-morning event to explain some of the health benefits of the new law.

In a sign of disgust among members of the Obama inner circle, an administration official told CBS News McChrystal was "ordered" to appear in person at the White house tomorrow to "explain to the Pentagon and the Commander in Chief his quotes about his colleagues in the (Rolling Stone) piece."

The general usually takes part in monthly war strategy meetings via secure video hook-up from Afghanistan. The article at the center of the controversy is titled "The Runaway General."

McChrystal is quoted as describing his first meeting with President Obama as disappointing. Mr. Obama is portrayed as unprepared for the session.

National Security Adviser Jim Jones, a retired army general, is viewed by a McChrystal associate as "a clown." The article describes McChrystal taking a verbal jab at Vice President Joe Biden.

A Biden aide says McChrystal personally contacted the vice president to apologize. But this is not the first time words about Biden have gotten McChrystal in trouble. Last year, Mr. Obama called McChrystal on the carpet for implied criticism of Biden in a speech.

The vice president had initially opposed the general's strategy to escalate U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Biden favored a narrower approach aimed at going after terrorists.

McChrystal staffers are also quoted as ridiculing U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and special envoy Richard Holbrooke, a veteran U.S. diplomat.

In a formal apology the general said, "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened."

The controversy puts Mr. Obama in a very difficult position. He can't be seen as tolerating what some may view as insubordination, but the dust-up comes at a crucial moment in the U.S. effort to gain the upper hand in Afghanistan.

CBS News military consultant Mike Lyons, a retired army major, said, "I think that it is not truly insubordination however commanders have been fired for less."

As for the timing, Lyons noted, "This is the worst possible time that there could be this kind of rift between the president and his commanders in the field."

The commander-in-chief certainly has the power to sack McChrystal. The general's predecessor, General David McKiernan, was replaced by McChrystal when the president decided the military "needed new thinking and new approaches" in Afghanistan war strategy.

Reacting to the McChrystal controversy, retired General David Grange, a CBS News analyst, said, "when you speak out like that, you have to be prepared to take your uniform off."

Tomorrow's Situation Room meeting with McChrystal will likely determine whether he'll survive or follow in Douglas MacArthur's footsteps and ''just fade away."

McChrystal Fallout: Will he be Fired?
Obama Summons McChrystal to Explain Himself
Fallout From General McChrystal Comments
Pictures: General McChrystal and President Obama
McCain, Lieberman, Graham: McChrystal Comments Inappropriate
60 Minutes: McChrystal on the Challenges in Afghanistan
CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan

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Peter Maer is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter.

[smoothman50]

Just like a true lib would start with the insults over a typo. Speaking of which, without lowering my standards to your level, read the requirments of running for the office of the presidency. Must be a born citizen of the United States. Not yeman Africa.

[abbeysroad]

Whats all the BLAH BLAH about The general was telling the truth!!

[philagumbo]

What was McChrystal thinking, criticizing someone with Obama's
vast military experience?

[MurdochSucks]

The president's military experience is not the point here. Most presidents have not had any military experience, yet they are the commander in chief. You don't disparage your direct supervisor, it is punishable by relief of duty and pay and confinement for one year. That's the rules, he goes by rules of engagement and should have known better.

[larry0304]

This is the same old story. When POLITICIANS run the war, we lose. Look no further than Korea and Viet Nam. It's amazing how people learn nothingfrom history. Let the GENERALS run the Dam$ war!

[canislupus16]

If the generals ran the Viet Nam war we'd still be there.

[MurdochSucks]

Good point, canislupus.

[6591Hou]

General McChrystal will have to step down:

Article 88 of the UCMJ: Contempt Toward Officials

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

[smoothman50]

The UNIFORMED CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE is as defined sir. However, Obama is not the president due to the lack of a Birth Certificate.
He Husain Obama is the progressive enemy of this country and In my opinion, this hero general needs a promotion for the defiance of the ZAR of America.

[MurdochSucks]

LOL, ZAR? That misspelling goes right along with your understanding of modern events. Nowhere in the legal code does it say that an elected president needs to demonstrate a birth certificate. It only states in the constitution that he needs to be a natural born citizen. Since he was born in Hawaii which was a state at the time, he is truly a natural born citizen. Foolish teatard.