The top US commander in Afghanistan has been summoned to Washington in the wake of a magazine article that mocked senior Obama administration officials and diplomats.
Gen Stanley McChrystal has apologised for the article in Rolling Stone.
In the article, Gen McChrystal said he felt betrayed by US ambassador to Kabul Karl Eikenberry.
The general's aides mock Vice-President Joe Biden and say Gen McChrystal was "disappointed" in President Obama.
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The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in northern Afghanistan says the article highlights the long-suspected divisions between the US military and administration officials.
One of the main targets of the article appears to be Mr Eikenberry.
Gen McChrystal says he felt 'betrayed' by the ambassador during the White House debate on troop requests for Afghanistan.
Gen McChrystal appears to joke with his aides about US officials
Gen McChrystal suggests Mr Eikenberry was using a leaked internal memo that questioned the troop requests as a way to protect himself from future criticism over the deployment.
The general says: 'I like Karl, I've known him for years, but they'd never said anything like that to us before.
'Here's one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, 'I told you so'.'
UPDATE
The first heads are rolling in the wake of the fiasco.
Duncan Boothby, who has been on McChrystal's staff for roughly a year, was the first casualty of a controversy that prompted White House officials to summon the general to the White House to explain the remarks in the profile that will appear in this week's issue of Rolling Stone.
Boothby was heavily involved in arranging access for journalist Michael Hastings to McChrystal and his staff this year so Hastings could write the profile, titled "The Runaway General."
An official in Kabul confirmed the resignation, speaking on condition of anonymity because it was a personnel issue.
By: Brant
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