Gen. Stanley McChrystal, top commander in Afghanistan, has been recalled to Washington to explain instances of ill-advised candor in which he and senior aides are quoted as saying unflattering things about a number of Obama-administration officials. The comments come in a profile of McChrystal in this week’s issue of Rolling Stone.

A flavor of some of the most explosive comments, via WaPo:

The profile of McChrystal, titled the “Runaway General,” also raises fresh questions about the judgment and leadership style of the commander Obama appointed last year in an effort to turn around a worsening conflict.
McChrystal and some of his senior advisors are quoted criticizing top administration officials, at times in starkly derisive terms. An anonymous McChrystal aide is quoted calling national security adviser James Jones a “clown,” who remains “stuck in 1985.”
Referring to Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s senior envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, one McChrystal aide is quoted 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.”
On one occasion, McChrystal appears to react with exasperation when he receives an e-mail from Holbrooke, saying, “Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke. I don’t even want to read it.”
U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, a retired three-star general, isn’t spared. Referring to a leaked cable from Eikenberry that expressed concerns about the trustworthiness of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, McChrystal is quoted as having said: “Here’s one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, ‘I told you so.’ “

McChrystal is also quoted apparently poking fun at Vice President Joe Biden:

“Are you asking me about Vice President Biden?” McChrystal asks the profile’s reporter a at one point, laughing. “Who’s that?”

McChrystal’s press aide has already resigned over the profile, and the general has offered his “sincerest apology for this profile,” calling it “a mistake reflecting poor judgment and it should have never happened.

On Wednesday the general will fly to Washington for a strategy meeting, where he is expected to explain his comments.