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| Afghanistan |
| US diplomat 'resigns' over Afghan war |
| 2009-10-27 |
| A STATE Department diplomat disillusioned with US involvement in Afghanistan has become the first US official known to resign in protest over the eight-year war, The Washington Post has reported. Matthew Hoh, 36, was the senior State Department official in Afghanistan's Zabul province, a hotbed for Taliban militants, until he resigned last month. His background in both civil and military fields may have seemed the perfect fit for President Barack Obama's administration as it steps up its counterinsurgency efforts in the war-torn country. But in a September 10 letter to the State Department's personnel chief, Hoh wrote: "I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan. "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," added the former Marine Corps captain, according to comments carried by the Post. The resignation, the newspaper said, "sent ripples all the way to the White House", and Government officials scrambled to convince Hoh to stay, concerned that he could become a prominent critic of the fledgling administration's Afghanistan policy. Hoh was offered a senior staff-level job at the US embassy in Kabul, which he turned down, and was flown to Washington to meet one-on-one with the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. "We took his letter very seriously, because he was a good officer," Holbrooke said in an interview with the daily. Holbrooke initially convinced Hoh - who had also served in uniform at the Pentagon and as a civilian in Iraq - that by remaining in government, he could more effectively change US policy in Afghanistan. But the diplomat changed his mind a week later and again tended his resignation. Staying on "wasn't the right thing to do", he told the Post. As Obama weighs a decision to potentially dispatch tens of thousands more US troops to the Afghanistan cauldron, Hoh said he decided to speak out to influence public opinion. "I'm not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love," he said. "I want people in Iowa, people in Arkansas, people in Arizona, to call their congressman and say, 'Listen, I don't think this is right.'" |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #18 Is the concept that the Pashtun's really don't like outsiders, including the folks from the city that far out? Does that make him a loon? So the reason they don't want us there may be wrong, but I think it is pretty clear that they don't want us there. Screw em. Lets leave. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2009-10-27 23:06 |
| #17 That statement surely puts him squarely in the 'loon' category Wooz. But I recommend we keep listening to him. If for nother other reason, simple comic relief. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-10-27 16:07 |
| #16 OK, he was just on the news here and, yeah, he's a bit dilusional. If he sincerely thinks that the only reason they hate us is because we're 'occupying' their country, he's sadly mistaken. He states, "The people we are fighting there are fighting us because we're occupying them, not for ideological reasons, not because of any links to Al Qaeda, not because of any kind of fundamental hatred toward the West. The only reason they're fighting us is because we're occupying them". So, according to him, if we just up and leave, all will be hunky-dory. Uh huh. Grow up, Mr. Hoh. |
| Posted by: Woozle Uneter9007 2009-10-27 16:02 |
| #15 Point taken Wooz, but attributing his actions to a medical condition or simply blowing him off as a malcontent might be a stretch as well. Appears he placed his stuff squarely in the street. Most men don't initiate such actions lightly. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-10-27 15:53 |
| #14 #11 The man should be listened to, not scorned. By talking to The Post, he's pretty well ensured that he'll be heard. Disagreeing with his assessment isn't necessarily 'scorn', to my way of thinking. |
| Posted by: Woozle Uneter9007 2009-10-27 15:35 |
| #13 the first six months of which are devoted to finding the bathroom Only a task for the morning of day #1. The entire region is a 'latrine.' |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-10-27 15:31 |
| #12 After five months and two assignments in-country Mr. Hoh has concluded the job cannot be done? That strikes me as awfully quick -- we budget a full year to master an assignment in a new environment, whether a country or a division... the first six months of which are devoted to finding the bathroom and who really is in charge of what, regardless what the organization chart claims. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-10-27 15:26 |
| #11 The man should be listened to, not scorned. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-10-27 15:09 |
| #10 I think this dude is clearly a PTSD casualty. He just couldn't take it anymore, and finally thought up the justification he felt he needed to quit. No shame in that, if he really tried his best. The pathetic part is that the brass is giving this clown so much attention (and plum assignment offers) trying to make him happy again. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2009-10-27 14:46 |
| #9 If you resign from the government over your differences with US policy then do so quietly, then Shut the F&*K up! He is grandstanding his policy against the US in a public forum. He is using his past deeds to bolster his agenda. He is no longer helping but now fighting in the PR wars with the enemy. If he really cared he would not be a QUITER, instead he would continue to fight to affect a meaningfull change in policy.. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-10-27 13:54 |
| #8 What would Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland do? If there was one thing we learned in a very compressed course of study of Afghanistan, it was that this was a people who ... frequently fight amongst themselves, and were somewhat springloaded to band together and fight against an external invader. It seemed that the unconventional warfare methodology was a logical solution ... |
| Posted by: tipper 2009-10-27 12:13 |
| #7 From #5; "If readying to stay in the country, Hoh called for a reduction in US troop numbers. He also urged more support for neighboring Pakistan in its fight against extremist elements, and increased pressure on Kabul to rid corruption in government." 1. Reduction of troop numbers? This is going to help us how? 2. How do you support Pakistan more than we have? Give them more tanks, UAV's and jets to face against India? Was this guy a lawyer in Iraq or a grunt? He seems to fit very nicely into the State Dept mindset. Anonymoose (#3) may have a point about his future plans but I would suspect political office is in his plans. |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-10-27 11:43 |
| #6 Resignation letter (1MB PDF) |
| Posted by: ed 2009-10-27 11:40 |
| #5 More Hoh, a former Marine who fought in Iraq, wrote in his letter that many Afghans take up arms against US forces because of their presence in the country, and Washington's backing of the national government that is widely seen as corrupt. If readying to stay in the country, Hoh called for a reduction in US troop numbers. He also urged more support for neighboring Pakistan in its fight against extremist elements, and increased pressure on Kabul to rid corruption in government. "We want to have some kind of governance there, and we have some obligation for it not to be a bloodbath," Hoh told the Post. "But you have to draw the line somewhere, and say this is their problem to solve." In his resignation letter -- posted online at washingtonpost.com -- Hoh noted that next year "the United States' occupation will equal in length the Soviet Union's own physical involvement in Afghanistan. "Like the Soviets, we continue to secure and bolster a failing state, while encouraging an ideology and system of government unknown and unwanted by its people," he wrote. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-10-27 11:22 |
| #4 "I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan. Here's a little reminder. (a) IN GENERAL- That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons. (b) War Powers Resolution Requirements- (1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution. (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS- Nothing in this resolution supercedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution. - SJR:23, Sept. 2001. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-10-27 10:00 |
| #3 Marine Corps Captain to Foggy Bottom? That is a damned unlikely career path, unless his next stop is McLean Virginia, which it very well might be. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-10-27 09:02 |
| #2 This story leaves a lot out, especially exactely WHY he has a problem. "Strategic purposes" are mentioned as the reason but no actual details are given or what his solution might be. We know he is unhappy but not exactly why. Purpose of mission, ROE, Tactics, what? |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-10-27 03:42 |
| #1 my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end Indeed. |
| Posted by: Phil_B 2009-10-27 03:41 |