Gen. Stanley McChrystal Summoned to D.C. to Explain Rolling Stone Magazine Comments

UPDATE: General McChrystal has been fired.

General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, has been summoned home to Washington, D.C. for a meeting at the White House after making some less-than-flattering comments about some top Obama administration officials calling the shots in Afghanistan.

The remarks will appear in this week‘s edition of Rolling Stone magazine.

In the article on McChrystal, called “Runaway General”, the General and some of his senior advisers harshly criticize Obama officials in no uncertain terms. One anonymous McChrystal aide refers to national security adviser James L. Jones as a “clown” who is “stuck in 1985.”

When discussing Obama’s senior envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, another aide was quoted as saying: “The Boss says he’s like a wounded animal. Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he’s going to get fired, so that makes him dangerous.”

Even McChrystal himself reacts with disdain upon getting an e-mail from Holbrooke. “Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke,” McChrystal says. “I don’t even want to read it.”

U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry isn’t off the hook either. Referring to a leaked cable from Eikenberry that questions the trustworthiness of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, McChrystal said: “Here’s one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, ‘I told you so.’”

Let’s not forget Vice President Joe Biden either. The story discusses an exchange where McChrystal and some of his colleagues seem to mock the Veep, who was against McChrystal’s troop surge recommendation in 2009 and instead emphasized counterterrorism measures.

“Are you asking me about Vice President Biden?” McChrystal asks the interviewer, laughing. “Who’s that?”

“Biden?” an unnamed aide chimes in. “Did you say Bite me?”

The magazine hits newsstands Friday and could be posted online earlier in the week.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal issued an apology for the article on Tuesday morning.

“I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and it should have never happened.”

In his statement, McChrystal says he has “enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team.”

“Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity,” he continues. “What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard.”