The White House has described reports that the NATO commander, Gen Wesley Clark, was sacked because of differences over US conduct in NATO's war against Yugoslavia as "ridiculous" and insisted that his removal was purely procedural.
According to the White House spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, President Clinton has the highest regard for Gen Clark. The commander did invaluable work in the Kosovo crisis, Mr Lockhart said.
Gen Clark will be succeeded by Gen Joseph Ralston, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the US Defence Secretary, Mr William Cohen, told a news conference in Tokyo yesterday. Mr Cohen insisted that he was happy with the NATO commander's performance.
The Pentagon spokesman, Mr Kenneth Bacon, denied a Washing- ton Post report that Gen Clark was being replaced next April in the light of tension with the Pentagon over the conduct of NATO's war against Yugoslavia. "Absolutely not," said Mr Bacon, who was visiting Japan with Mr Cohen.
Gen Clark (54), a Vietnam War veteran who took the NATO post in July 1997, was simply leaving towards the end of his three-year tenure in the job, he said.
Mr Cohen said the NATO commander had done an "outstanding job". His departure ahead of the end of his three-year term was because of "time pressures" next year relating to his successor.
Gen Ralston's current term would expire in February and he could be kept on officially for only an extra 60 days afterwards, said Mr Cohen, "and that dictated the timing of it".