President Obama on Thursday said the U.S. will “not miss a beat” because of the recent firing of the commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Mr. Obama fired Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Wednesday over comments the general made in a Rolling Stone magazine interview that were critical of the civilian leadership in Washington.
The president said the removal of Gen. McChrystal was not a consequence of a difference in policy.
“He was executing the policy that I had laid out; that he was executing the orders that I had issued and that were reflective of the review process that took place last year,” Mr. Obama said.
He was speaking to reporters at the White House following a meeting with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev on Thursday.
He said he is confident he has a team in place that can execute. “I’m paying very close attention to make sure that they execute and I will be insisting on extraordinary performance moving forward,” he added.
Mr. Obama has installed Gen. David H. Petraeus in Gen. McChrystal’s place.
• Ashish Kumar Sen can be reached at asen@washingtontimes.com.
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