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Tuesday, Jun 22, 2010 9:46 PM UTC

Obama says McChrystal showed “poor judgment”

President's comments are the first made publicly since the Rolling Stone article broke

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Topics: Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Barack Obama, Afghanistan,

President Barack Obama says Gen. Stanley McChrystal showed “poor judgment” in a magazine story in which the Afghanistan war commander and his aides disparaged the president and other members of the administration.

Asked whether he would fire McChrystal, Obama said he planned to talk McChrystal face-to-face before making any decision.

The comments were Obama’s first since the controversy erupted on Monday.

Obama spoke to reporters at the end of his meeting with Cabinet on Tuesday afternoon.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan made an “enormous mistake” in an unflattering magazine article and that “all options are on the table” with regard to Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s job.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs repeatedly declined Tuesday to say that McChrystal is safe in his post or could be considered by President Barack Obama to continue as an effective commander. Obama summoned McChrystal home to attend a Wednesday meeting on the war and explain the story.

Asked about McChrystal’s future, Gibbs said: “We’ll have more to say after that meeting.”

McChrystal had complained about Obama’s preparedness in one of their first meetings. Gibbs responded tartly to that: “He’ll have his undivided attention tomorrow.”

More Associated Press.

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