GEO 436 BRUSSELS: General Stanley McChrystal’’s replacement caused unease among some NATO allies Wednesday, concerned that it sends a bad signal after he masterminded a strategy to tackle the Taliban in Afghanistan. NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen had on Tuesday backed the alliance’’s commander in Afghanistan, amid a storm over an interview in which McChrystal criticised the White House. “We are in the middle of a very real conflict, and the Secretary General has full confidence in General McChrystal as the NATO commander, and in his strategy,” Rasmussen’’s spokesman had said. But on Wednesday US President Barack Obama decided such insubordination could not be tolerated and McChrystal duly resigned. Rasmussen swiftly sought to assure that McChrystal’’s strategy would survive his departure. “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.” Rasmussen stressed in a statement. “The Afghan people should have no doubt that we will continue to carry out our mission in partnership with them,” he added. In private, several NATO delegations in Brussels had expected McChrystal’’s removal, deeming his position untenable after Rolling Stone magazine published an interview in which he and his aides derided top administration officials and spoke dismissively of Obama. However there was regret that he had been left with no choice but to go just because of some ill-judged remarks to a reporter. German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told German television that McChrystal was “a guarantor of the new strategy in Afghanistan,” before the announcement of the US general’’s resignation. Zu Guttenberg warned that NATO forces were facing a “very tough summer” and that the alliance needed steady leadership during a potentially very bloody period.
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