McChrystal didn't make any of the disparaging comments himself, the Pentagon found. McChrystal cleared of nasty remarks

A Pentagon investigation has determined that neither Gen. Stanley McChrystal nor the senior officers in his inner circle made the disparaging comments to Rolling Stone that led to the general’s downfall in June.

McChyrstal was relieved of his command of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after a Rolling Stone article portrayed his team making snide remarks about Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Jim Jones and others.


But as first reported Wednesday by the New York Times, the Pentagon’s investigation into the case has established that McChrystal didn’t make any of the comments himself. In fact, Pentagon officials told POLITICO Wednesday that McChrystal was never even a “person of interest” in the probe.

The Times said that the investigation may now be focused on a mid-level naval officer who was also part of McChrystal’s group. But the paper said that the naval officer has told Navy officials that he did not make the remarks in question, either.

A Pentagon official told POLITICO that the investigation is ongoing.

“What they’re looking for is to see if any Army policies or guidelines or procedures were violated,” the official said.

The investigation’s preliminary conclusions come as a new book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward reveals nasty backbiting within the Obama administration over the war in Afghanistan – replete with comments that were markedly similar to those that led to McChrystal’s dismissal.

According to the Times, Woodward’s book quotes Biden calling U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke "the most egotistical bastard I've ever met” and Gen. David Petraeus – McChrystal’s replacement in Afghanistan – calling White House senior adviser David Axelrod “a complete spin doctor.”

The Rolling Stone story said McChrystal laughed when an aide referred to Biden as “Bite Me,” and it said that an unnamed McChrystal aide had called Jones a “clown.”

McChrystal, who retired with each of his four stars and now teaches a course at Yale, offered his resignation to Obama two days after the Rolling Stone story appeared in June.

Military officials began the investigation into the article at the behest of Army Vice Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli, who wanted them to determine what if any regulations were violated before the publication of the article.

Reporter Michael Hastings, who wrote “The Runaway General” for Rolling Stone, reportedly declined to talk with the Pentagon’s investigators. Reached by email Wednesday, he declined to comment on the probe, referring POLITICO to a Rolling Stone spokesman instead.

That spokesman referred POLITICO to an editor's note published in the Aug. 5th edition of the magazine.

“All of the unattributed quotes were provided by the general’s closest and most senior advisors, expressing attitudes that McChrystal was fully aware of and often encouraged,” the magazine said in a statement. “The most infamous comment in the piece – a mocking reference to the vice president as Joe ‘Bite Me’ – was made by one of McChrystal’s top advisers and lifelong confidante during a formal briefing, and elicited an appreciative laugh from the general.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Rolling Stone’s comments as coming in response to questions about “The Runaway General” rather than in an editor’s note that was published in the Aug. 5th edition of the magazine. An earlier correction said the editor’s note accompanied the story.

CORRECTION: Corrected by: MJ Lee @ 09/23/2010 11:05 AM CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Rolling Stone’s comments as coming in response to questions about “The Runaway General” rather than in an editor’s note that was published in the Aug. 5th edition of the magazine. An earlier correction said the editor’s note accompanied the story.