Processing: Angry President Obama

“‘Angry’ President Will Meet McChrystal Tomorrow, but Strategy Likely to Remain the Same

By Spencer Ackerman 6/22/10 1:43 PM

“He was angry,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said just now about President Obama’s reaction after reading Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s comments to Rolling Stone disrespecting several senior administration officials. Gibbs said he didn’t want to “prejudge” tomorrow’s Situation Room meeting between the general and the president to see “what in the world [McChrystal] was thinking.” But “all options are on the table,” Gibbs said about McChrystal’s future, repeatedly referencing Defense Secretary Gates’s statement that McChrystal has made a “significant mistake.”

But Gibbs also made all of his comments in the context of the administration’s current counterinsurgency strategy. Some observers have speculated that the prospect of cashiering McChrystal is an opportunity for overhauling the strategy. Andrew Exum, a former adviser to McChrystal on Afghanistan who also served under the general, noted, “If you feel the strategy in Afghanistan needs a radical change, this would be the ideal time to change commanders.” That wasn’t where Gibbs’ head was at in his press briefing this afternoon.”