Obama sacks McChrystal as Afghanistan chief after magazine article

President Barack Obama has accepted the resignation of the US commander in Afghanistan, replacing him with Gen David Petraeus.

US president Barack Obama has relieved his top Afghanistan commander, Gen Stanley McChrystal, of his command after he made disparaging remarks in a magazine articlet. Gen David Petraeus, commander of the US Central Command, will succeed Gen McChrystal as the US commander in Afghanistan. In a statement to the media in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Obama said General McChrystal did not meet the conduct of a commanding general. Mr Obama said he wlcomed debate but "I won't tolerate division." The change in commanding general was "a change in personnel, not policy," he said Gen McChrystal delivered his resignation after he was ordered back to Washington for a one-on-one showdown with Mr Obama earlier today over his stunning criticisms of the US national security team in a magazine article. In a profile published in the magazine Rolling Stone, the general tolds an aide that if he were asked what he thought of the war strategy advocated by the vice president, Joe Biden, he would reply: "Who's that?" Another aide describes the national security adviser, James Jones, a retired four-star general and veteran of of the Cold War, as a clown who was stuck in 1985. On Tuesday Gen McChrystal issued an apology for his remarks. He said in a statement. "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened. I have enormous respect and admiration for president Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war, and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome." Six Nato soldiers were killed in attacks in Afghanistan today, alliance forces said, bringing to 75 the number of foreign troops who have died in the country this month. The deaths of one British marine and five other soldiers made it nearly certain June would be the worst month for Nato casualties since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban. The British marine was killed in a small arms fire in Helmand province, a hotbed of the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan, the UK defence ministry said in statement. Four other soldiers died in homemade bomb attacks - two in the south, one in the east and one in the west - while one soldier died in an accident on patrol in western Afghanistan NATO announced in Kabul without giving details on their nationality. * Agencies