McChrystal US commander in Afghanistan sacked

General Stanley McChrystal has been relieved of his command of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan.

McChrystal's departure follows a 30-minute meeting with Barack Obama, the US president, on Wednesday.

He had been summoned to Washington after a Rolling Stone magazine article portrayed the general and his aides as dismissive of the Obama administration and its strategy in Afghanistan.

Obama nominated General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, to take command of the war in Afghanistan.

In a statement in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Obama said he was not "personally insulted" by McChrystal's comments, but called his conduct unbecoming.

"The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general," Obama said.

"It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system."

No change to strategy

Obama made it clear that the change in command would not mean significant changes to his war strategy in Afghanistan.

"This is a change in personnel, not a change in policy," he said.

McChrystal emailed a short statement to reporters shortly after Obama's announcement, calling it a "privilege and honour" to have served as the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan.

"I strongly support the president's strategy in Afghanistan, and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations and the Afghan people," he wrote.

"It was out of respect for this commitment that I tendered my resignation."

"Poor judgment"

The Rolling Stone article, released on the internet on Tuesday, contained quotes critical of Joseph Biden, the US vice-president, and several other high-ranking officials.

At one point, McChrystal referred to a leaked memo from Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador in Kabul, which questioned the competence of the Afghan government.

McChrystal had already apologised for his remarks.

In a statement released on Tuesday, he called his comments "a mistake reflecting poor judgment".

A spokesman for Nato, James Appathurai, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the military alliance still had "full confidence" in McChrystal.

The Afghan government also took the unusual step of endorsing McChrystal and urging Obama not to remove him from command.

Waheed Omer, a spokesman for Afghan president Hamid Karzai, said Karzai "respects" the decision.

"We had hoped this would not have happened, but the decision has been made and we respect it," Omer said. "[Karzai] looks forward to working with his replacement."

The change of command is the latest bit of bad news in a difficult month for the Nato mission in Afghanistan. Six Nato soldiers were killed in attacks across the country on Wednesday, bringing the death toll for foreign troops in June to 75.

Al Jazeera