General McChrystal's interview and fallout

General Stanley McChrystal, the man currently in charge of US military operations in Afghanistan, has been summoned to the White House for a standing meeting tomorrow in the wake of his controversial interview with Rolling Stone, in which he trashed the Obama Administration. McChrystal publically apologized for the remarks made in the interview, in which he said he used "poor judgment". White House Press Secrectary Robert Gibbs said that "the magnitude and greatness of the mistake here are profound", but refused to say whether McChrystal's job was safe. Gibbs did say that President Obama acknowledged McChrystal's apology, and that McChrystal deserved a chance to explain himself. Meanwhile, Time magazine's Joe Klein said on CNN that a reliable source informed him that McChrystal has offered his resignation.

McChrystal's remarks:

• McChrystal's first meeting with Obama:

According to sources familiar with the meeting, "McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass.

• McChrystal's first one-on-one meeting with Obama:

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."

• McChrystal wonders aloud what Biden question he might get today, and how he should respond "I never know what's going to pop out until I'm up there, that's the problem," he says. Then, unable to help themselves, he 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?"

• ...in private, Team McCharystal likes to talk shit about many of Obama's top people on the diplomatic side. One aide calls Jim Jones, a retired four-star general and veteran of the Cold War, a "clown" who remains "stuck in 1985."

• McChrystal reserves special skepticism for Holbrooke, the official in charge of reintegrating the Taliban. "The Boss says he's like a wounded animal," says a member of the general's team. "Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he's going to get fired, so that makes him dangerous. He's a brilliant guy, but he just comes in, pulls on a lever, whatever he can grasp onto. But this is COIN, and you can't just have someone yanking on Shit."

• McChrystal weighs in on Eikenberry after The New York Times reported several leaked cables from Eikenberry indicated that the ambassador was worried about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan:

"I like Karl, I've known him for years, but they'd never said anything like that to us before," says McChrystal, who adds that he felt "betrayed" by the leak. "Here's one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, 'I told you so.'"

• "He's been locked up in his palace the past year," laments one of the general's top advisers. At times, Karzai himself has actively undermined McChrystal's desire to put him in charge. During a recent visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Karzai met three U.S. soldiers who had been wounded in Uruzgan province. "General," he called out to McChrystal, "I didn't even know we were fighting in Uruzgan!"

• The Secretary of State is the only member of Obama's staff to get good reviews from McChrystal's people:

"Hillary had Stan's back during the strategic review," says an adviser. "She said 'If Stan wants it, give him what he needs."

• The biggest military operation of the year -- a ferocious offensive that began in February to retake the southern town of Marja -- continues to drag on, prompting McChrystal himself to refer to it as a "bleeding ulcer."

• McChrystal's staff is a handpicked collection of killers, spies, geniuses, patriots, political operators and outright maniacs. ... They jokingly refer to themselves as Team America, taking the name from the South Park-esque sendup of military cluelessness, and they pride themselves on their can-do attitude and their disdain for authority.