# Marine Captain resigns in Protest over Governmental Policy in Afghanistan



## Ferdinand Foch (Aug 8, 2010)

Hey guys, 
these were articles that my history teacher sent me way back last semester. I just read them, and thought that some members here might want to see this. I don't totally believe everything he says, though he does have some good points. Wanted to see what you guys thought of it. 

Matthew Hoh resigns from his post in Afghanistan
This has his resignation letter. 

Matthew Hoh: Foreign Service official resigns in protest over Afghan war - washingtonpost.com
This is a Q and A that he answered.


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## BombTaxi (Aug 9, 2010)

He makes some good points, primarily that we are not fighting Al-Qaeda, or the Taliban, but an entirely indigenous Pashtun insurgency. It was probably only protocol that prevented him from pointing out that this insurgency is backed by elements of Pakistan's ISI, who are theoretically on 'our side'. He is also dead right that effectively combating Al-Qaeda would require invasion and subjugation of vast swathes of Central Asia and East Africa, not to mention our erstwhile partner Saudi Arabia. 

NATO is already losing smaller EU members like the Netherlands as they decide that this war isn't worth fighting. I fear that in a few years, it will just be the US and UK, still trying to foist a corrupt and unwanted govt on the Afghans. We should learn from the Soviet mistake and get out while the going isn't appalling, IMHO...


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## Ferdinand Foch (Aug 9, 2010)

Yeah,you may have a point there BT. My biggest fear, though, is the amount of face that we might lose if we pull out without at least accomplishing something worthwhile. Pulling out of Somalia in '93 showed Al Qaeda that if pushed hard enough, the U.S. will back down-and this was just a small incident, comparitively speaking. If we withdraw to quickly from Afghanistan-in my opinion- without leaving behind some positive change, than any face or integrity that we have left may just evaporate into thin air. We have to show these punks that were still in this, and were not gonna back down that easily.


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## BombTaxi (Aug 9, 2010)

Ferdinand Foch said:


> Yeah,you may have a point there BT. My biggest fear, though, is the amount of face that we might lose if we pull out without at least accomplishing something worthwhile. Pulling out of Somalia in '93 showed Al Qaeda that if pushed hard enough, the U.S. will back down-and this was just a small incident, comparitively speaking. If we withdraw to quickly from Afghanistan-in my opinion- without leaving behind some positive change, than any face or integrity that we have left may just evaporate into thin air. We have to show these punks that were still in this, and were not gonna back down that easily.



Problem is, the punks left town years ago. We're now fighting a domestic insurgency which is not Islamist or Jihadist; like Mr. Hoh stated in his letter, they don't want to destroy the Western way of life; they just don't want it in their country. It's a feeling not too dissimilar to that of the people who oppose the Cordoba House project at Ground Zero; they feel something totally alien trying to insert itself into their space, and they don't like it. The US and UK have already lost face in failing to find Bin Laden, in failing to stabilise Afghanistan and in having two of the most sophisticated armies in the world tied down by a bunch of guys with home-made bombs. I don't see much face left to be lost...


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## Ferdinand Foch (Aug 9, 2010)

Eh, yeah. Your right about that BT. But, if we leave now, won't the situation in Afghanistan just get even worse-though I actually have no idea on how worse it can get. I also worry about what will happen to all the Afghani's that aided us-I have this nasty flashback of what happened to the South Vietnamese who helped us out that were captured when the Vietnam War ended. 
I know that we need to leave Afghanistan (we weren't going to be there forever anyway), I just don't know when.


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## BombTaxi (Aug 10, 2010)

If we leave, Afghanistan will go back to the way it always has been - a fiercely tribal country governed by local strong-men and dependent on the opium trade for money. The UK has been intervening in the country since the1840s and every time we have scaled down our intervention, the status quo has been restored. They will probably bring the Taliban back, or a similarly unhinged theocratic govt. I don't think that's right, but we already know that we can't change that by military means, and we can't create a pro-democracy environment without wiping out most of Central Asia. It's a big lose-lose


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## woodbutcher17 (Apr 15, 2022)

If you keep doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results its past time to do something different.


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## FLYBOYJ (Apr 15, 2022)

woodbutcher17 said:


> If you keep doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results its past time to do something different.


Just so you know, this thread has been dormant for over 11 years.


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## woodbutcher17 (Apr 16, 2022)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Just so you know, this thread has been dormant for over 11 years.


Thanks, interesting, still applies.

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## Thumpalumpacus (Apr 16, 2022)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Just so you know, this thread has been dormant for over 11 years.



And the two main posters both made points long ago that have been shown to pan out by the events of the past year.

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## Greg Boeser (Oct 7, 2022)

Seems like a good zombie thread to resurrect.
My son is a Marine officer who earlier this year was detailed to babysit Afghan refugees here in the States. He encountered many who had been high ranking military or governmental officials, who were demanding special treatment. His response"I don't care who you were. You are now a refugee in America, because you did not defend your country. And now it is controlled by the Taliban."

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