Layout from Rolling Stone magazine's feature on Gen. McChrystal.
A US official says President Obama was “angry” at scathing criticism by his top military commander in Afghanistan, which he believed distracted from the nation's war mission.
The top US commander in Afghanistan is set to learn his fate, after being summoned by the White House to explain his mocking remarks about leading administration officials.
General Stanley McChrystal now faces a one-on-one show-down on Wednesday from an "angry" President Barack Obama.
He will also face a number of those he has criticized, during a monthly Afghanistan-Pakistan White House meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Washington officials believe McChrystal has made an "enormous mistake" in making the comments which are to be published in the Rolling Stone magazine on Friday.
Even though the general has apologized for the controversial article, calling it a mistake that "should never have happened", he still could face loosing his job.
Unconfirmed reports say McChrystal is prepared to hand in his resignation, but it is up to the president to decide whether to accept it.
Duncan Boothby, a special assistant to McChrystal who organized the Rolling Stone journalist's access to the commander, has already resigned.
Analysts believe the article reflects long-suspected divisions between the US military and administration officials.
The Runaway General, written by Michael Hastings, quotes the general as saying he was "disappointed" in his first meeting with an unprepared Obama.
He goes on to mock a range of other senior White House officials for their doubts about the commander's Afghan war strategy.
When asked a question about US Vice President Joe Biden, the general sarcastically answers: "Are you asking about Vice-President Biden? Who's that?"
He also called James Jones, the national security adviser and one of his aides, a "clown stuck in 1985."
In the article, McChrystal also points a blaming finger at the US ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, saying he felt "betrayed" by him during the long 2009 White House debate on troop requests for Afghanistan.
The general includes Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, in his long list of criticisms.
"Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke... I don't even want to open it," McChrystal is quoted as saying in the Rolling Stone magazine article.
McChrystal's gaffe comes at trying times for US forces in Afghanistan.
During recent months militants have escalated their attacks on Western forces.
The rising number of casualties has increased opposition to the Afghan war in the member states of the Western military alliance.
There are a total of 130,000 foreign troops based in the war-torn country. The US has plans to deploy 30,000 extra troops by August.
The US-led troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001, with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the war-ravaged country. Nine years on, however, Afghanistan remains unstable and civilians continue to pay the price.
FF/MB