US allegedly paying Afghan warlords: report

Commander ordered to White House

The US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has been ordered to the White House to explain his criticism of the president and his senior advisers, a top US official said.

In a profile in Rolling Stone magazine, McChrystal jokes sarcastically about preparing to answer a question, referring to Vice Presi-dent Joe Biden, known as a skeptic of the commander's war strategy, and McChrystal imagined ways of "dismissing the vice president with a good one-liner."

McChrystal also told the magazine that he felt "betrayed" by the US ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, in a White House debate over war strategy last year.

Earlier, McChrystal issued a statement apologizing for his remarks to the magazine.

"I extend my sincerest apology for this profile," McChrystal said in a statement issued hours after the article entitled "The Runaway General" was published Monday. "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened."

Separately, Britain's special envoy to Afghanistan, Sherard Cowper-Coles, has taken an extended leave, the government announced, amid reports that he clashed with NATO and US officials over strategy to tackle the Taliban insurgency.

Agencies