First American diplomat resigns over US role in Afghanistan
Matthew Hoh, a former Marine who fought in Iraq and then became a diplomat assigned to a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan, has become the first American official to resign publicly in protest over the Afghan war, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. In his resignation letter of 10 September (see links below) Hoh wrote that American activities were simply fuelling the insurgency. “I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the US 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." Given the cogency and impact of Hoh’s letter, Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s Afghanistan/Pakistan special envoy, tried to put the best possible face on what is clearly a major black eye. Holbrooke said that while he disagreed that the war "wasn't worth the fight", he did agree with much of Hoh's analysis.Read more: The Washington Post, AP
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