McChrystal is the former commander of the Afghanistan war. He was fired in July by President Barack Obama because of disparaging comments he and his aides made about their civilian bosses.

Yale announced Monday that McChrystal's seminar will "examine how dramatic changes in globalization have increased the complexity of modern leadership." McChrystal said in a statement accompanying the release that he was looking forward to sharing his "experiences and insights as a career military officer."

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Neither GOP lawmaker, however, was outraged enough to demand Steele's resignation, as some other Republican have done. Both said from Kabul it was up to Steele to decide whether he could continue to lead the party.

Steele's remarks, a political gift to Democrats in a congressional election year, were captured Thursday on camera, during a Connecticut fundraiser that was closed to the news media, and posted online. The comments would make it difficult for Republican candidates to have Steele campaign for them.

"I think those statements are wildly inaccurate and there's no excuse for them," McCain said, adding that Steele sent the Arizona senator an e-mail saying the remarks "were misconstrued."

"I believe we have to win here. I believe in freedom. But the fact is that I think that Mr. Steele is going to have to assess as to whether he can still lead the Republican Party as chairman of the Republican National Committee and make an appropriate decision," McCain told ABC's "This Week."

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Jeff Paterson, the project director of Courage to Resist, an organization that supports "informed resistance" of those who have left or want to leave the Army, believes that Manning, the Army private who leaked a video of an Apache helicopter attacking civilians in Afghanistan, is getting a raw deal compared to McChrystal.

"Here's one case of your average rank and file soldier who is facing a crisis of conscience, with realizing what's really going on with this war on the ground ... he made the decision to actually throw his hat in the ring of public debate, to actually offer a critical critique of what's going on," Paterson said. "And now he's in jail ... and doesn't have the ability to just resign from the Army."

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Between checking for updates on the New York Times and the Small Wars Journal and listening to George Packer and Fred Kaplan on NPR, I opened a package that had arrived in yesterday’s mail. It was a book: "A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency From the Civil War to Iraq," by Mark Moyer. As the title suggests, the book argues that the success or failure of a counterinsurgency strategy depends on the quality and commitment of the individuals leading the fight.

Those who spoke out against McChrystal’s dismissal made the same argument. We can’t change leadership at such a crucial moment in the battle, they say. As one NPR reporter put it, "McChrystal is the war in Afghanistan." Thus, many believe that the success or failure of the counterinsurgency strategy depends on him.

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What are your thoughts on the president bringing in Gen. Petraeus to replace Gen. McChrystal?

We have to wait and see how this situation evolves. It's too early to tell. As I have said all along, though, I respectfully disagree with the way policy is evolving in Afghanistan.

I was the only member of Congress to vote no on the use of military force in Afghanistan after 9/11 because I thought it would give any administration a blank check to wage war.

I don't believe there's a military solution here.

President Obama specifically said today that this is not a change in policy, just a change in personnel. Does this concern you?

I would hope to see new policy. Our brave men and women are in harm's way, the number of casualties is rising, and I don't see Karzai and his government as effective partners.

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Here is what the presidents said:

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Obama: "Today I accepted Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation as commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. I did so with considerable regret, but also with certainty that it is the right thing for our mission in Afghanistan, for our military and for our country."

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Truman: "With deep regret I have concluded that General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the United States government and of the United Nations in matters pertaining to his official duties."

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Obama: "The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan"

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"If you look at Iraq, Petraeus and [former Iraq Ambassador Ryan] Crocker were joined at the hip and closely coordinated State Department and military activities," said Conrad Crane, the leading author of what has become the counterinsurgency bible. "From the reports, it appears that the close cooperation in Afghanistan was not there."

Crane said that the authors of the counterinsurgency manual agreed on the fundamental importance of inter-agency and international coordination and cooperation. "When we did the counterinsurgency doctrine, we moved unity of effort up to the second chapter to emphasize how important that is," he explained. Crane describes the lessons in that chapter, "Unity of Effort: Integrating Civilian and Military Activities," as vital.

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Afghans had warned that the dismissal of McChrystal would disrupt progress in the war and jeopardize a pivotal security operation under way in Taliban strongholds in the south.

After President Barack Obama announced the selection of Petraeus, Afghan authorities said they were relieved because the veteran war commander helped craft the counterinsurgency strategy being implemented in Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, said the Afghan leader was informed of the change in leadership before the public announcement and that he was happy with the selection, despite his respect for McChrystal.

"He respects Gen. McChrystal but he also respects Gen. Petraeus," Omar said. "He believes Gen. Petraeus knows Afghanistan."

Omar described McChrystal as a "a fine soldier" and partner for the Afghan people "but we believe Gen. Petraeus will also be a trusted partner."

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Should Gen. McChrystal have been fired?

I believe this matter has already been settled. My view is that he should not have been fired.

Can you discuss what may have been frustrating McChrystal?

It’s completely speculative, but I would think there’s ample reason for the guy to be frustrated in the sense that he’s been engaged in wars for about the last six years. He’s constantly deployed. He never gets to see his family. I think he behaved stupidly. But I certainly understand these are people who are under tremendous stress. And that sometimes causes people to do stupid things.

Have you seen anything like this before?

Of course. In the Korean War, President Truman fired Douglas MacArthur for professional misbehavior that was far more egregious than what McChrystal was guilty of.

McChrystal was well known for his commitment to a specific counterinsurgency strategy (COIN). Can you describe this strategy?

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Obama said: "This is a change in personnel, but this is not a change in policy."

That won't please liberal critics of the war -- especially because Petraeus' commitment to a July 2011 withdrawal date is pretty soft.

One benefit of choosing Petraeus is that he is respected -- beloved -- by everyone in Washington. The leader of the NATO forces in Afghanistan has to be approved by the Senate. No one could possibly have less trouble getting through the Senate than Petraeus.

The Petraeus selection was predicted by, of all people, Bill Kristol. Rich Lowry seems thrilled. Joe Lieberman just slobbered all over Petraeus on MSNBC. The guy is untouchable.

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As far as I can remember, Petraeus wasn't on any journalist's shortlist for likely McChrystal candidates.

Spencer Ackerman has a list of the key strategic choices McChrystal made in Afghanistan and some predictions of what might change under a new commander. For a great criticism of McChrystal and the entire mission in Afghanistan, see Thomas Rittig.

Petraeus is said to favor very, very slow troop withdrawal following the July 2011 deadline, and he may request more troops before then.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A source tells The Associated Press that President Barack Obama has decided to oust Afghanistan commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal over inflammatory remarks he made about Obama and other high administration officials.

McChrystal had apologized for several disparaging remarks he made in an interview about his civilian superiors.

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Let’s hope that Obama is not persuaded by such patently silly advice. It is an idée fixe of some political commentators that Obama should parlay every presidential dilemma into an opportunity to show "true leadership." But judging Obama’s presidency by whether he’s displaying the right emotions (resolve, toughness, and anger, to name a few) gives an unintended and entirely superficial meaning to the phrase "presidential performance."

John Kerry seemed to understand this yesterday when, in a futile attempt to douse the emerging firestorm, he said, "Everyone needs to take a deep breath and give the president and his national security team the space to decide what is in the best interest of our mission."

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“We have the highest respect for General McChrystal and honor his brave service and sacrifice to our nation. General McChrystal’s comments, as reported in Rolling Stone, are inappropriate and inconsistent with the traditional relationship between Commander-in-Chief and the military. The decision concerning General McChrystal’s future is a decision to be made by the President of the United States.”

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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.

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Now Hastings had 10 days with McChrystal in Paris, and then to Berlin, by bus. And the general and his team drank the whole way. "They let loose" on the bus, according to Hastings, who spoke to NBC.

Rolling Stone didn't ask the White House for comment prior to publication. It fact-checked the quotes with McChrystal, but didn't show him the piece before it ran. Last night R.S. sent embargoed copies of the story to media outlets. This morning, Politico posted a pdf of the whole piece. Rolling Stone executive editor Eric Bates, talking to the Huffington Post, was unhappy about that:

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A quick sample of the comments:

On Joe Biden:

[McChrystal] and his staff imagine the general dismissing the vice president with a good one-liner.

"Are you asking about Vice President Biden?" McChrystal says with a laugh. "Who's that?"

"Biden?" suggests a top adviser. "Did you say: Bite Me?"

On Obama:

The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed."

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McChrystal, who has publicly apologized for using "poor judgment" in an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, has been ordered to attend the monthly White House meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person Wednesday rather than via a secure videolink, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

He'll be expected to explain his comments to Obama and top Pentagon officials, the officials said.

President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, said the Afghan leader thinks McChrystal "is a person of great integrity," who has a very good understanding of the Afghan people and the Afghan culture.

"The president believes that Gen. McChrystal is the best commander that NATO and coalition forces have had in Afghanistan over the past nine years," Omar said, adding that McChrystal has worked very closely with Karzai since he arrived and that "lots of things have improved."

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The argument against firing him is that, well, he's in charge in Afghanistan. It's his strategy, he's the counterinsurgency expert, and he's supposed to have made the place ready for drawing down in a year.

But he insulted the civilian leadership of the military, from the State Department's ambassador to the vice-president of the United States. On the record. To Rolling Stone. His staff trashed the president himself. James Fallows says the president must "demonstrate that there are consequences for showing open disrespect for the chain of command."

Spencer Ackerman says there's a case to be made that McChrystal could be court-martialed. But, he adds, McChrystal probably won't even get fired:

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