Posted on 11/05/2011 5:17:07 AM PDT by Pan_Yan
KABUL, Afghanistan — A senior American general stationed in Afghanistan has been fired for criticizing President Hamid Karzai in a published interview.
The NATO and American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John R. Allen, announced in a press release on Saturday that he was dismissing Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller, the deputy commander for programs at the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, effective immediately. “The decision follows recent inappropriate public comments made by Maj. Gen. Fuller,” General Allen said.
The statement was issued early Saturday morning in Kabul, which was still Friday in the United States, where General Fuller had been on a speaking tour. It came shortly after a Thursday interview with the two-star United States Army general was published by the news Web site Politico.
General Fuller was responding to remarks made by President Karzai a week earlier in which he told a Pakistani interviewer that Afghanistan would come to Pakistan’s aid if attacked by the United States.
“Why don’t you just poke me in the eye with a needle! You’ve got to be kidding me,” General Fuller said. “I’m sorry, we just gave you $11.6 billion and now you’re telling me, ‘I don’t really care?’ ”
General Fuller also described President Karzai as erratic and inarticulate.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Your post was fantastic. One of the best I’ve read in a while.
For some time, I’ve been thinking “Stay the course, stay the course. The Afghanis that we’re training for military ops and for running the govt, they’ll comr around. They’ll get it”.
But they’re not. There’s no amount of money that can get them to think about the big picture - securing and building a nation. If there’s someone out there who has information to the contrary, I’d be willing to hear it.
As much as it pains our psyche to admit we failed, it is time to pack it up.
It has always been so, but that doesn’t mean the general is wrong, and he was very brave for speaking out. He probably knew that statement was a career-ender, but he put country above international political games.
Actually, that’s always been the case. It’s nothing new. Everyone thinks those in the military have the same rights as all other US citizens, but that’s not really how it works. The First Amendment, for instance, is greatly restricted. Members of the military who want a long and happy career have to learn to be careful of what they say.
Just keep documenting all of this. Eventually justice will come...it has to.
“Speaking the truth, in public, in today’s Military is always a career ending event.”
Right you are! General Fuller, a patriot; General Allen, typical Wesley Clark A$$hole. Too many Allen’s have risen to the top in the miitary. They are a cancer and they have the ability to get your young son (or daughter) killed for nothing. LIke everything else, our military is now run by Clark lookalikes.
Equip our drones with spray tanks and dust Afghanistan with persistent nerve agent and defoliant/soil sterilant for the next five years. Turn it into Carthage.
Good comment.
Anyone figure out yet while we are there after driving out the taliban? I thought that was the mission...not some never ending national building by bribing those in power. Frankly, I think Karsi has an agreement with POKistan and probably the Talibsn too. He knows sooner than later we leave so why not get off the tracks now because the train is not going to stop for him.
I would add two words though to your cruise missile comment, that word would be thermo nuclear. Please don’t turn over that turd pit to the Taliban as we are doing for Iran in Iraq, at least, not in tact.
Another good and brave leader canned.
The longer a liberal Democrat is president, the worse our military officer class becomes. By worse, I mean bowing to the politicians, being “correct” on homosexuality and advancing women over men, being good at desk work and not a clue on leadership or battle skills and making the troops do chicken sh!t like painting rocks or meals on wheels, instead of battle readiness.
This happen under Carter and is happening under Omama.
Karzai and his corrupt band of looters had better have their “bug out bags” and escape aircraft on strip alert when the Americans and other allies leave Afghanistan. Karzai and company's looters will be standing against walls in front of Taliban firing squads. (If the Taliban don't get Karzai and company's looters, there are other Afghan strongmen itching for the chance to grant these guys a Long Dirt Nap.)
“We should fire Karzai and put this guy in his place.”
Can we put Bolton as second in command?
“The afghans have learned nothing from all of our years of mentoring and assistance.”
They have learned nothing in about 1500 years. Islam came and learning was over. All you need to know is the koran.
The problem is islam. I don’t know how anyone can fix centuries of stupid.
Cain needs to talk to this general about the VP slot.
Ending this man’s military career & putting out into the media to say what he wishes might not have been the best move for Barry the Imposter.
Especially when we have a POTUS who freaks out if you even mention his ears. The ego of The One is more precious than American lives.
If we had a Republican-led Congress and a conservative Republican President, if a two-star general was making public comments critical of conservative policies, many of us would be furious — and likely for good reason.
I haven't seen the full interview so I don't want to sit in judgment of the general. I am going to say any general who gets to that rank knows good and well the importance of submission of the armed forces to civilian control, and if he doesn't, there's a problem.
Either the general was misquoted or quoted out of context (possible but not likely — the reporter and the general both know if a tape recording exists, it will prove the point one way or the other) or the general did something really stupid (in which case he should be sacked) or the general did what he did knowing full well he would cause an uproar.
The day the general is out of uniform is the day he can run for office, speak out against abuse in the military or in our foreign allies, or otherwise fight bad political decisions.
Given the likelihood of the Republicans winning big next year, I don't know why the general didn't just sit tight and wait.
A lot of questions need to be answered. There may be good answers for what and why he did what he did, but we probably won't hear them until the general is out of uniform.
Exactly. I recall the president saying “MacArthur isnt going to retire, that son of a bitch is going to be fired!”
In the military it appears to have gone from “the truth shall set you free” to “the truth will get you fired”!
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