WASHINGTON — The author of the Rolling Stone article that ended the military career of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander in Afghanistan, has been denied permission to join U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Defense Department spokesman Col. David Lapan told reporters freelance writer Michael Hastings was rebuffed when he asked to accompany American forces next month.
Hastings quoted McChrystal and his aides criticizing and mocking Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden. McChrystal was recalled to Washington and fired.
Lapan acknowledged that it’s “fairly rare” for the military to turn way a reporter who wants to embed with front-line troops.
Lapan did not say what unit Hastings had asked to accompany or whether he had spelled out his assignment. He is a freelance reporter working on a story about helicopters in Afghanistan, but also has signed a book contract that grew out of the McChrystal story.
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