President Obama had no option but to fire General McChrystal, the leader of NATO's ISAF mission in Afghanistan, according to former NATO Secretary General, Dutchman Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

"Were something like this to happen in the Netherlands, if a commander of the forces made such remarks about a minister, it would be impossible to keep him in his post. It must have been a difficult, but unavoidable decision for the US president," he told BNR newsradio.

Stanley McChrystal, was fired by President Obama following an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, where the general described the Washington government in disparaging terms. He is quoted as saying,  "Are you asking about Vice President Biden? Who's that?" and "Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke. I don't even want to open it."

Successor
"The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system," President Obama said when announcing McChrystal's departure.

General McChrystal was pivotal for the NATO strategy in Afghanistan. His departure complicates matters, Mr De Hoop Scheffer said. "But one ray of hope is that his successor, General David Petraeus, is of exceptional quality. He knows Afghanistan well and was McChrystal's superior at Central Command in the US, so continuity of the Afghanistan strategy will be assured."

Troop withdrawals
General Petraeus has in the past been sceptical about an early withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, as favoured by President Obama. "The only certainty is that this issue will have to be dealt with in the course of 2011." The former NATO chief expects that President Obama will have confidence in General Petraeus' advice on troop withdrawals.

Members of the US Congress reacted favourably to the president's handling of the case. Republican Senator McCain, often critical of Mr Obama, said, "We applaud the decision of the president of the United States to ask General Petraeus to serve again in defence of our nation. We think there is no one more qualified or a more outstanding leader than General Petraeus to achieve a successful conclusion of the Afghan conflict."

Mr De Hoop Scheffer does not expect NATO members to criticise President Obama's decision to fire General McChrystal. "After all, they are only supplying 25 percent of the alliance's 130,000 troops in Afghanistan. They will accept Mr Obama's step, be it with some disappointment because they generally agreed that McChrystal was doing a good job."

Listen to RNW's Afghanistan expert Bette Dam with her view on the change in leadership and what it means for Afghanistan: