Fox News’s Major Garrett has gone around the Hill to get reactions to the McChrystal profile.
– Sen. Joe Lieberman (I., Conn.) called McChrystal’s comments “inappropriate” and said his future presented a “hard decision for the president.”
– Sen. Jim Webb (D., Va.) said the comments represented “clearly bad judgment” and were a “pretty serious matter.”
– Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.) said he was “very troubled” by the “inappropriate” comments, and that they could have a “negattive effect on policy implementation.”
– Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said the comments “appear . . . really troubling.”
– After speaking with McChrystal, Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) said “This is a critical moment in Afghanistan. The top priority is our mission . . . . and our ability to proceed forward competently.” He said of McChrystal’s future that “Those are comments that he’s going to have to deal with.”
Elsewhere, House majority leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said he’d reserve judgment until after McChrystal meets with the president:
“The person that needs to have faith in McChrystal is the commander in chief, the president of the United States,” Hoyer said.
Hoyer (D-MD) said Congress also must have faith in the general but he will withhold judgment until after McChrystal meets with President Obama to apologize and until he has all the facts. He added that most of the unflattering quotes in the piece are sourced to aides.
“This article hasn’t even been printed yet,” Hoyer said. “I read a news story about it in the Washington Post.”
And a written statement from Defense Secretary Robert Gates:
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2010 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates issued a statement today regarding a profile article on Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Here is the secretary’s statement:
“I read with concern the profile piece on Gen. Stanley McChrystal in the upcoming edition of ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine. I believe that Gen. McChrystal made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment in this case. We are fighting a war against al Qaeda and its extremist allies, who directly threaten the United States, Afghanistan, and our friends and allies around the world. Going forward, we must pursue this mission with a unity of purpose. Our troops and coalition partners are making extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our security, and our singular focus must be on supporting them and succeeding in Afghanistan without such distractions. Gen. McChrystal has apologized to me and is similarly reaching out to others named in this article to apologize to them as well. I have recalled Gen. McChrystal to Washington to discuss this in person.”






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