WASHINGTON – A furious President Barack Obama weighed whether to fire his Afghan war commander at a perilous time in the conflict as he summoned Gen. Stanley McChrystal to Washington to explain disparaging comments about his political masters.

McChrystal's complaints about his commander in chief and Obama's aides put his job in jeopardy. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday "the magnitude and greatness of the mistake here are profound" and repeatedly declined to say McChrystal's job was safe. "All options are on the table," he said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the commander's comments in Rolling Stone magazine were "distractions" to the war in Afghanistan.

McChrystal publicly apologized Tuesday for using "poor judgment" in interviews for the magazine. He then left Afghanistan to appear, as ordered by Obama, at the White House on Wednesday.

He'll be expected to explain his comments to the president and Pentagon officials who, as Gibbs put it, want "to see what in the world he was thinking." The presidential spokesman said Obama acknowledged McChrystal's apology and believed he deserved a chance to explain himself.

However, military leaders rarely challenge their commander in chief publicly and when they do, consequences tend to go beyond a scolding. And Gibbs left little doubt that a firing was probably in the offing. "Our efforts in Afghanistan are bigger than one person," he told reporters several times.

A decision on McChrystal's future will be announced by the White House after Wednesday's meeting, Gibbs said.

Obama appointed McChrystal to lead the Afghan war in May 2009. Despite a continuing troop buildup, progress has been halting, with U.S. casualties rising, public support waning and tensions growing between Washington and Kabul.

Practically the only expression of confidence in McChrystal on Tuesday came from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who issued a statement calling the general the "best commander" of the war. Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said Karzai hoped that Obama doesn't decide to replace him.

A top military official in Afghanistan told AP that McChrystal hasn't been told whether he will be allowed to keep his job. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions between Washington and the general's office in Kabul.

Gibbs said McChrystal had not offered his resignation, in part because he has not yet spoken to or seen Obama, who was angry when his press secretary gave him the story Monday night.

Gibbs refused to describe how angry the president was, except to say: "You would know it if you saw it."

McChrystal spent Tuesday calling several others mentioned in the article to apologize, officials said, including Gates and Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special