Pentagon Inspector General Looks Into McChrystal Magazine Story
Army General Stanley McChrystal
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Army General Stanley McChrystal, then commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Army General Stanley McChrystal, then commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The Pentagon Inspector General is expanding an Army investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Rolling Stone magazine article that led in June to the firing of Army General Stanley McChrystal as the top commander in Afghanistan, according to a spokesman.
Pentagon Inspector General Gordon Heddell has “assumed responsibility” for the Army investigation, spokesman Gary Comerford said in an e-mail statement.
“After reviewing the Army report,” Heddell’s office “determined additional investigative work was indicated to fully address matters and that such work would entail contact with sources outside of Army jurisdiction,” Comerford said. “The DoD IG work has begun. It is too early to estimate a completion date.”
Comerford wouldn’t specify the subject, size or scope of the inquiry except to say “this is an administrative not a criminal investigation.”
Army Chief of Staff General George Casey requested the initial inquiry in July “to look into how the Rolling Stone article came about,” said Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver.
Casey was “interested in knowing who said what to who, when it was said and other circumstances that resulted in the article,” Garver said.
More Than Army
The report was turned over to the Pentagon Inspector General when Casey realized more than Army personnel were involved in the issue, Garver said.
President Barack Obama on June 23 stripped McChrystal of his command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan for disparaging remarks about administration officials made by him and unnamed members of his staff to a Rolling Stone reporter just over a year after he was assigned to salvage the war effort.
Obama named General David Petraeus, who was commander of American forces in the Middle East and Central Asia and the architect of U.S. counterinsurgency strategy, to replace him.
“As difficult as it is to lose General McChrystal, I believe it is the right decision,” Obama said at the White House. The comments the general and unnamed aides made to a magazine reporter do “not meet the standards that should be set by a commanding general,” he said.
Obama said the decision didn’t reflect a difference over war policy. He said the controversy over the remarks “undermines civilian control of the military” and makes it more difficult to achieve U.S. objectives in Afghanistan.
“I welcome debate among my team, but I won’t tolerate division,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio at acapaccio@bloomberg.net
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