Washington summons McChrystal

The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan has been summoned by Washington for mocking White House officials and senior diplomats in an interview.

Stanley McChrystal issued a statement offering his apology, saying it was all a mistake, reflecting poor judgment.

The general said he was sorry for the article in which he criticized US President Barack Obama, his vice president and the US ambassador to Kabul.

The article quotes McChrystal as saying he was disappointed by his first meeting with an unprepared Obama.

The magazine profile emerged from several weeks of interviews and travel with McChrystal’s tight circle of aides.

Gen. McChrystal had also criticized Vice President Joe Biden and US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, for their doubts about the commander’s war strategy.

“Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke… I don’t even want to open it,” Gen. McChrystal wrote in the article in Rolling Stone magazine.

The general had said that he felt ‘betrayed’ by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.

Analysts say long-suspected divisions between the US military and administration officials are coming to the spotlight.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said on Tuesday that the article was “unfortunate.”

The alliance currently has about 130,000 soldiers in the war-torn country. The US plans to deploy 30,000 extra troops by August.

The rising number of casualties has increased opposition to the Afghan war in the member states of the western military alliance.