HE ENDED the career of US General Stanley McChrystal, and now the Pentagon have denied Michael Hastings permission to join US troops fighting in Afghanistan.
A spokesman for the Defence Department, Col David Lapan told reporters that freelance writer Michael Hastings was rebuffed when he asked to accompany, or ”embed,” with American forces next month.
The Pentagon are currently investigating Hastings article in Rolling Stone that lead to McChrystal’s sacking.
Hastings quoted McCrystal and his aides mocking US President Barack Obama and senior white house officials.
Speaking to the New York Times Lapan acknowledged that it’s ”fairly rare” for the military to turn way a reporter who wants to embed with front-line troops.
”There is no right to embed,” Lapan said. ”It is a choice made between units and individual reporters, and a key element of an embed is having trust that the individuals are going to abide by the ground rules. So in that instance the command in Afghanistan decided there wasn’t the trust requisite and denied this request.”
Lapan is believed to be writing a story about helicopters in Afghanistan and he is also said to have signed a book deal following the McCrystal affair.
Clarifying the story, Hastings tweeted this morning @AP story: the embed had already been approved for September. now it has been disapproved.
Bidding farewell to his troops in Afghanistan McChrystal made light on the incident ”I have stories on all of you, photos of many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter.”
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