Matthew Hoh, Senior U.S. Official in Afghanistan, Resigns Over War

As first reported by the Washington Post today, Matthew Hoh, 36, a senior foreign service officer, wrote a four-page resignation letter to Ambassador Nancy Powell, director general of the foreign service at the State Department. In the letter, he expressed his "reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy."

In Matthew Hoh's letter, the former Marine Corps captain who served a total of six years, including time as a civilian DoD employees, said that he felt that he failed "to see the value or the worth in continued U.S. casualties or expenditures of resources in support of the Afghan government in what is, truly, a 35-year old civil war."

Despite agreement by Karzai to have a runoff election, Matthew Hoh noted in his letter of enormous graft and corruption in Afghanistan. He also said that the election was "dominated by fraud and discredited by low voter turnout, which has created an enonnous victory for our enemy."

Matthew Hoh resigned in early September, but the story has only recently been made public, as his resignation was final last Friday. The U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl W. Eikenberry, and Richard Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, tried to talk Hoh out of resigning, with Holbrook even offering him a job. However, Hoh first accepted, then later declined, according the Post said.

Matthew Hoh changed his mind a week after first accepting Holbrooke's offer. As he told the Washington Post, "I'm not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love. There are plenty of dudes who need to be killed. I was never more happy than when our Iraq team whacked a bunch of guys."

However, Matthew Hoh noted, and as many feel about both Iraq and Afghanistan, our efforts there have added fuel to an already blazing fire. Particularly when collateral damage occurs, our efforts create new recruits for Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The news of Matthew Hoh's resignation comes as military leaders call for added troops in the country. President Barack Obama has not indicated a decision as yet, but there is a report today that additional troops, though not as many as requested, will probably be added to our numbers in Afghanistan.