General Sorry over Article; Obama's Budget Chief to Step Down
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're here. We have a lot to talk about this morning. So let's get right to it. First, we are following a developing story now out of the White House and the Pentagon. The top general in Afghanistan is apologizing after slamming the administration in a "Rolling Stone" piece. The White House is now responding and someone has already lost their job over it. We'll have that, plus Pentagon reaction in a moment.</s>JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The president's budget point man calling it quits. CNN learning that Peter Orszag, the man who helped stir the economic stimulus bill through Congress was stepping down next month. He's the first major White House official to go. And we're live at the White House with what this means for the president's economic recovery plan.</s>CHETRY: And sex scandal allegations, attacks about race and religion -- the governor's race in South Carolina has gotten pretty ugly on the Republican side of the aisle. Well, today, voters will choose their candidate in a primary runoff and we'll be there live -- coming up.</s>ROBERTS: And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation going on right now. Just go to CNN.com/am</s>FIX. CHETRY: But, first, a developing story in a major rift between the commander-in-chief and his top general in Afghanistan exposed. General Stanley McChrystal is now apologizing this morning for a profile in "Rolling Stone" magazine. In it, he talks about disappointment, distrust and frustration with the Obama administration.</s>ROBERTS: General McChrystal is saying the article was, quote, "a mistake reflecting poor judgment." And so his first response was to fire one of the people on his staff. Barbara Starr joins us now live from the Pentagon. Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House. Barbara, let's start with you though. General McChrystal has been recalled to Washington and also taking some action among his inner circle.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: A bit of action, John, but really, what will happen is still to come here. General McChrystal getting on a plane in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the coming hours, flying back to Washington, called to the White House for a meeting tomorrow, face-to-face with the president and key administration officials that he has criticized through this "Rolling Stone" article. Unprecedented -- I think the Pentagon is in shock, to say the least, about what has happened here. "Rolling Stone" publishing a major profile of General McChrystal in which top aides speak about the general's views on President Obama. Let me just read you a couple of quotes from the article very quickly. The first one, quote, "The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office. McChrystal thought Obama looked, quote, 'uncomfortable and intimidated' by the room full of military brass." The article has other quotes about the general and Obama saying, quote, "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, McChrystal, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his expletive war but he didn't seem very engaged. The boss, McChrystal, was pretty disappointed." This is the fundamental problem for General McChrystal -- through his staff, disparaging comments about the commander-in-chief. This is the red line in the United States military, this simply is not done. You do not make disrespectful or disparaging comments about the president of the United States. So, General McChrystal issuing an apology overnight from his headquarters in Afghanistan, saying, quote, "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened. Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard." The question now, of course, hangs in the air: Can General McChrystal survive this boiling scandal at the moment? You will recall he's in office because Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen said the previous general, Dave McKiernan, couldn't get the job done and they absolutely had to have General McChrystal in command, that he was the only one that could do it. Now, we'll see if that lasts past tomorrow in that White House meeting -- John, Kiran.</s>CHETRY: And we have a copy of the article here. It's a fascinating read. But it begs the question: why would General McChrystal give the interview in the first place or series of interviews according to the author?</s>STARR: Yes. You know, it's just -- it is mystifying to so many military leaders. I think we all understand that "Rolling Stone" is not a typical publication that the U.S. military deals with. In fact, we are told, the aide that set up the interview, a man named Duncan Boothby, has already been fired by General McChrystal for this. The author, Michael Hastings, given inside access to General McChrystal and his senior staff as they traveled around, and a really unvarnished look at Michael Hastings went ahead and published everything he saw and heard. Very interestingly, no one is disputing the accuracy of the article. General McChrystal has not said that any of the quotes were untrue or inaccurate. You know, so it stands as is right now -- John, Kiran.</s>ROBERTS: All right, Barbara. Let's get the White House's side of this as well. Suzanne Malveaux is standing by there. So, he has been recalled. That's the first White House action that's being made public. What are you hearing behind the scenes? Are they stunned by the revelations that came out in this article?</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that they are quite angry. General McChrystal -- this is not the first time, John and Kiran, that he's gotten in the trouble with the White House, with the president. You may recall, there was a big debate that splurged forward of some leaks that came out before about the efficacy of actually troops increase, a surge, in Afghanistan. McChrystal on the side of more troops and that -- having that debate spill out in public, he had received an admonishment before. Well, now, he's effectively going to be taken to the woodshed tomorrow when he is being called personally to meet with the commander-in-chief. I want to give you this quote from a senior administration official and it is very telling here because it says that McChrystal has been directed to attend tomorrow's monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan in person rather than appear on secured video teleconference to explain to the Pentagon and the commander-in- chief his quotes in the piece about his colleagues. It is not a mistake -- they are emphasizing commander in chief. It is a reminder that it is the president of the United States who is General McChrystal's boss here. That this is the kind of thing that's not going to be tolerated and certainly, John and Kiran, this is a test for this president, whether or not he is going to, as Barbara said, draw that line in the sand, that red line, whether or not he is going to tolerate what they have seen now as not the first but perhaps the second of major disappointment And, you know, the defiance, if you will, of the White House and administration's policy, moving forward and putting that kind of public debate over Afghanistan and in this kind of forum -- it is very upsetting to those who have I have spoken with at the White House.</s>CHETRY: All right. Also, other news out of the White House this morning -- we're shifting gears here and we're talking about one member of the cabinet looking like he's on his way out.</s>MALVEAUX: Peter Orszag, it's not surprising. He's the director of the Office of Management and Budget, OMB. He's been here for almost about two years or so. And he's someone who has accomplished a great deal, but did not want to stay for the complete two years. He's run his course -- but once again, very effective in terms of the stimulus package, $860 billion, two budgets, overhaul of health care reform. All of that being put on the table. He wants to step down, to step aside, and it comes at a very important time here. Obviously, he handled a lot of big items when it comes to the recession. But he's the guy -- this is the guy who really pushed for deficit reduction. That was his idea. You got to take a look at the deficit and deal with this ballooning deficit. There are others inside of this White House who've been talking about cutting taxes, more stimulus. So, it will be very interesting to see, once he leaves, who's in his place and what kind of position they have on that because it has been at the core, the center, of the debate here in this building behind me. Just having to deal with the recession -- how do you get to jumpstart the economy, get it going again, do you need to focus on the deficit, and reducing the deficit, as he did?</s>CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning at the White House -- busy day for you guys. All right. Thanks so much.</s>MALVEAUX: Thanks.</s>CHETRY: Well, it's eight minutes past the hour right now. An admission of guilt and also a warning: Faisal Shahzad pleading guilty to all 10 counts in the failed Times Square bombing. He now faces life in prison. In court yesterday, Shahzad was unapologetic, calling himself a Muslim soldier and telling the judge that he, quote, "wanted to plead guilty 100 times." Shahzad also warned that attacks from more soldiers like him will follow unless the U.S. gets out of Iraq and Afghanistan.</s>ROBERTS: Investigators in Peru releasing photos of evidence in the case against Joran van der Sloot, including a bloodstained shirt, they say, that he wore when he allegedly killed business student Stephany Flores. Prosecutors also gave the judge a psychological exam that calls van der Sloot, quote, "emotionally immature," adding that he doesn't value women. Meanwhile, van der Sloot is now reportedly re-tracking his confession. Van der Sloot told the Dutch newspaper that he only signed papers admitting he killed Flores was because he was, quote, "tricked by police."</s>CHETRY: Also, new development this morning from a campfire to 10,000 acres in just two days. Wildfire is threatening the city of Flagstaff, Arizona, now forcing the evacuation close to 800 homes, as well as an animal shelter and two national monuments. Forecasters are also saying that gusty winds driving the flames may not die down until tomorrow.</s>ROBERTS: Well, if you tuned to CNN last night, you know that Larry King assembled a staggering roster of stars, and with your help, raised more than $1 million to help people affected by the oil disaster.</s>ROBERTS: Sting was one of the performers last night, while celebrities on both coasts were manning the phone lines.</s>CHETRY: Altogether, more than $1.8 million is now raised. If you see what we have across that now, it's not the total, because if you still want to donate, it's not too late. You can go to CNN.com/impact. And there you'll find a list of organizations that are making a difference.</s>ROBERTS: Well, it's time to vote again. Runoff election day in four states. Nikki Haley eyes victory in a dirty GOP primary race for South Carolina governor. Jim Acosta is there. He's got all the scoop on what's going on in the Palmetto State. Stay with us. It's 10-and-a-half minutes after the hour.