When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for to help expand its development efforts in Afghanistan.
A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed.
But last month, in a move that has sent ripples all the way to the White House, Hoh, 36, became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, which he had come to believe simply fueled the insurgency.
“I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan,” he wrote Sept. 10 in a four-page letter to the department’s head of personnel. “I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end.”
The reaction to Hoh’s letter was immediate. Senior U.S. officials, concerned that they would lose an outstanding officer and perhaps gain a prominent critic, appealed to him to stay.
[More]
Notes:
Understood and because Obama refuses to make a decision on Afghanistan I know exactly where he is coming from.
Obama is a “weiner” — all talk, no show — as expected.
The truth is this — while Obama is playing golf US soldiers are dieing and they don’t know why. I’ll tell them why.
Meet “Angel” (my name for her) – murdered by Saddam who used WMD against the Kurds.
I find it hard to believe that the US was so “sucked in” by the thought of free money in the last election they cannot begin to understand what is at stake but that is what they have going here. A bunch of morons led by a bunch of morons who don’t know about “Angel” and don’t care. They are after taxpayer wallets and “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”.
Heres my thought for what it is worth. One “Angel” is worth 10,000 Obama’s and our soldiers are correct. If the US military decided in their infinite wisdom to remove Obama as they have recently done in Honduras with another president I would applaud. Chavez can have him. There is a point where the law stops and common sense prevails.
I agree with this officer. I would resign also because I would no longer to be able to back the current US government in place. I don’t approve of legal thieves who were elected through the back door after much planning and plotting.
People like Barney Frank can kiss my ass.
I will also say this. Barney Frank has bankrupted the US with the aid of Obama and Acorn.
Short story…Barney Frank and his ilk have to go ASAP if the US wants to survive.
Thankfully, Canada is not in that position and we don’t want to go there.
We’re very lucky, Jack.
Guys like Barney Frank are never wrong and when things go in the crapper, it’s never, ever their fault.
While it’s true Congressional elections in 2010 can’t come fast enough, the wait must be endured because the infotainment media still seems to be generally leading people to believe that there’s a pot of gold at the end of Obama’s rainbow, they’re all sunshine all the time when it comes to The One.
Two short years after that and Obama will be unceremoniously thrown out of office, that will provide fodder for the Sharpton/Jackson cartoons, but little else except a legacy as the worst US President.
Enough with this “we’re there to help the children” crap. You’re there to conquer Afghanistan and stop Islamism. Nobody cared about Afghanistan before 2 towers fell in New York. Hell, the US put the taliban in power to fight the Russian-backed Northern Alliance (ironically, Reagan sold the Taliban to his right wing base as good religious men fighting for their freedom against the Commies). Hedge later had them over for tea to discuss running a pipeline from the Caspian sea through Afghanistan. All the abuses you claim to oppose were rampant during this time and it mattered not a damn. But when the Taliban refused to give up Bin Laden without evidence, then the US got all high and moral about frrreeeedom.
History is definitely not on your side, as Afghanistan has thus far proven unconquerable (Alexander the Great, Mughals, British, Russia, …) but heck at least you have an excuse – hippie Obama didn’t give enough money.
Silly Cy! Obama is too young to be a hippy. He’s about the right age to be a hippy’s brat…
Re: #3 — “Enough with this “we’re there to help the children” crap. You’re there to conquer Afghanistan and stop Islamism.”
Wrong. The average soldier knows none of this. He (or she) is there to help the children. It’s as simple as that and it is why this war will go on for the next thirty years. To give the children time to grow up well educated and take over their country — ”Islamism” included.
That’s my line and I’m sticking with it.
Perhaps if the americans hadnt pulled out before the job was done in Afghanistan the first time around, we wouldnt be in this mess now.
You know what the Democrats plan for Afganistan is,picture Saigon,helicopters on the roof of the American embassy,the old Peace with Honour retreat.At one time I supported all of this but as time passes and politicians play games it i time to bring our kids home .