President Barack Obama has named David Petreaus as Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s replacement as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.The president held a press conference today in Rose Garden to publicly announce his decision to relieve McChrystal from his post.
After McChrystal’s position was compromised due to a controversial article in Rolling Stone, Obama held a private meeting with the general and gave his final verdict. Central Command Chief Gen. David Petraeus will replace McChrystal as head of Afghanistan efforts.
The article depicted McChrystal and his associates bad-mouthing Obama and other officials. The general was flown back from Afghanistan and met with the administration regarding his, as Obama explained, “poor judgment.”
The status of his position as commander remained unknown for two days until Obama gave a public statement naming Petreaus as his successor.
McChrystal issued an apology in an interview regarding the remarks made in the article. He said: “I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war, and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome.”
The administration said the head of the military’s Central Command will assume the post immediately as commanding general in Afghanistan.
