Militaire strategie in Afghanistan verandert niet door ontslag McChrystal (en)
EUOBSERVER / WASHINGTON DC - European and Nato officials on Wednesday (23 June) expressed confidence that the military strategy in Afghanistan will remain unchanged after Nato's top commander Stanley McChrystal earlier the same day was sacked by US President Barack Obama over scathing criticism of him and his aides voiced in a popular magazine.
The incriminating article, which spoke of "wimps at the White House", appeared in the online edition of Rolling Stone, a popular US magazine rather known for its musical reviews and profiles, such as its current cover story about the 24-year old pop singer Lady Gaga.
The McChrystal remarks exposed the growing rift between the White House, Vice-President Joe Biden and the top military commander of a war which already has dwindling support among the European public and has triggered early elections in the Netherlands and the resignation of German President Horst Koehler.
"The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general," Mr Obama said in a public statement at the White House shortly after accepting Mr McChrystal's resignation.
"It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan," he added.
Ever since Mr Obama came to power, he pledged to shift focus from Iraq to Afghanistan in the "war against Al Qaeda" and other terrorist networks. But in the Rolling Stone article, Mr McChrystal and his aides said they are profoundly disgruntled with the White House half-hearted support for the war effort and especially Vice President Joe Biden's opposition to the counter-insurgency strategy.
So far, it was rather the European governments which were seen as dragging their feet in supporting the US-led war in Afghanistan, prompted by the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Mr McChrystal has not denied any of the comments reproduced in the article and admitted it was an "error of judgement" to have spoken so freely to the journalist, who was embedded in his team for almost a month.
In announcing his replacement by another high-profile general, David Petraeus, credited for the military surge in Iraq, which the US claims has helped "stabilise" the country, Mr Obama made sure the blunder is not equated with a policy change.
"I don't make this decision based on any difference in policy with General McChrystal, as we are in full agreement about our strategy," he said.
Pending Mr Petraeus' confirmation by Congress, the Nato-led international forces in Afghanistan will be commanded by a British lieutenant-general, Nick Parker. The decision came in a phone conversation between Mr Obama and the British Prime Minister David Cameron, Downing Street said in a statement.
"The Prime Minister and the President again made clear that the UK and US governments remain absolutely committed to the strategy in Afghanistan," the press release said.
Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan and is the second biggest contributor of forces after the United States.
Berlin, which recently upped it troop numbers to 5,350, also expects "no change in the strategy." But on a personal level, German defence minister Karl-Theo zu Guttenberg said he was sorry for the general's departure. "McChrystal was a very reliable partner. I regret not being to work with him any longer," said Mr Guttenberg, on a trip to visit German troops in the Horn of Africa.
Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said there would be no changes to counter-insurgency policy implemented by Mr McChrystal.
"While he will no longer be the commander, the approach he helped put in place is the right one. The strategy continues to have Nato's support, and our forces will continue to carry it out," he said in a video statement, while thanking the US general for his service.
The former Danish Prime Minister has a hard time selling the war effort in European countries, including his own. Only one day before the McChrystal affair, Copenhagen announced its withdrawal from a drone project involving 14 other nations, aimed in part at helping troops in Afghanistan avoid the deadly explosive devices which have caused most of the Western casualties.
"Denmark's withdrawal from the program sends the wrong signal to our forces and to other allies," Mr Rasmussen said.
Denmark's contribution to the €1.3 billion "Alliance Ground Surveillance" project would have been only around €50 million, but it may set a precedent for other governments to follow suit, as austerity measures are forcing them to cut spending.
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