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| Afghanistan |
| NATO Training CG in Afghanistan fired for criticizing Karzai |
| 2011-11-05 |
| ...Revealing state secrets, apparently. That or a severe case of honesty. A top U.S. general in Afghanistan was fired Friday for making disparaging remarks about Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government. Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller, deputy commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, made the remarks in an interview with Politico that was published Thursday. Fuller told Politico that major players in the Afghan government are "isolated from reality." Fuller reacted angrily to claims from Karzai that Afghanistan would side with Pakistan if it were to go to war with the United States. Fuller called Karzai's statements Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), released a statement Friday saying Fuller was to be relieved of his duties, "effective immediately." "These unfortunate comments are neither indicative of our current solid relationship with the government of Afghanistan, its leadership, or our joint commitment to prevail here in Afghanistan", Allen said. "The Afghan people are an honorable people, and comments such as these will not keep us from accomplishing our most critical and shared mission-bringing about a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan." He might agree with every word Fuller said but he's savvy enough not to say so. Pentagon officials who spoke to Fox News on the condition of anonymity agree that Fuller seemed to go off the rails in the Politico interview, admitting he showed extremely poor judgment. The fish line didn't help his cause: "You can teach a man how to fish, or you can give them a fish," Fuller said. "We're giving them fish while they're learning, and they want more fish! [They say,] 'I like swordfish, how come you're giving me cod?' Guess what? Cod's on the menu today." Oh, I am so going to steal that line! Fuller is not the only loose-lipped general to sink his own ship. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, once the commander of ISAF, was fired by President Obama himself after the Rolling Stone published disparaging remarks he made about the president and other members of his administration. |
| Posted by:Mike Kozlowski |
| #4 We have to assume either a) it's something in the water or b) they'd had it up to here. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2011-11-05 12:58 |
| #3 I agree Whiskey Mike. It pisses me off every single time our cute young kids are blown up by them. What a terribly sad waste. |
| Posted by: Jeque Hupairong2828 2011-11-05 11:27 |
| #2 I think Fuller meant every word he said. I think he understates the problems. In my opinion Afghanistan is not worth the loss of one American life. Not one. It is a beggar state with pretensions to actually being a part of the civilized world. It is not a nation that can be 'built' as it is not a nation. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2011-11-05 03:30 |
| #1 About McChrystal... I think I forgot to post this at the time. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-11-05 00:46 |