At a precarious moment in the war in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama prepared to hear his top war commander explain biting published complaints about the Obama administration. Even before their showdown, the White House’s rebuke of General Stanley McChrystal suggested it would be hard for him to save his job.
On a summons from Obama, McChrystal arrived in Washington from Afghanistan to see his boss in person yesterday, first in the Oval Office and then in the president’s regular monthly war meeting, in which McChrystal usually participates by video conference.
Two military officials said McChrystal was prepared to submit his resignation. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Obama was set to make an announcement on McChrystal’s future soon after their face-to-face.
“I think it’s clear that the article in which he and his team appeared ... showed poor judgment,” Obama said on Tuesday at the close of an unrelated Cabinet meeting. “But I also want to make sure that I talk to him directly before I make any final decisions.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed his confidence in McChrystal during a video conference on Tuesday night with Obama, Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said in Kabul.
“We hope there is not a change of leadership of the international forces here in Afghanistan and that we continue to partner with General McChrystal,” Omar told reporters.
In a Rolling Stone magazine article, McChrystal didn’t criticize Obama himself, but called the period last fall when the president was deciding whether to approve more troops “painful” and said Obama appeared ready to hand him an “unsellable” position.
McChrystal also said he was “betrayed” by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, the man the White House chose to be his diplomatic partner in Afghanistan. He accused Eikenberry of raising doubts about Karzai only to give himself cover in case the US effort failed.
“Now, if we fail, they can say ‘I told you so,’” McChrystal told the magazine.
He was also quoted mocking US Vice President Joe Biden.
Military leaders rarely challenge the president, their commander in chief, publicly. When they do, consequences tend to be more severe than a scolding.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
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FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
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