A Two-Star General Speaks Frankly about ‘Our Ally,’ Hamid Karzai
Nov 6th, 2011 | 10 responses
About three weeks ago, Reuters quoted Afghan President Hamid Karzai saying: “God forbid, if ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan,”
Karzai also said:
“Afghanistan will never forget the welcome, the hospitality, the respect, and the brotherhood showed by the Pakistani people towards the Afghan people…Pakistan will never betray their brother.”
According to CBS News, “that would be the case regardless of whether the country was India, China or the United States.”
In a comment I made on a thread discussing endless American military involvement in the Middle East, I said (I have cleaned it up a little bit):
I am so [frustrated] at our “ally,” Mr. Karzai — the man and his country we are spilling American blood for, almost at the rate we did in Iraq — for his unforgivable comments that, should there be a conflict between the U.S. and Pakistan, he would side with Pakistan…
Of course, my comment carried no weight.
However, I was pleased to see someone else — of a little more stature — join me in expressing “frustration.”
This “someone else” said in an interview with POLITICO, that Afghan leaders were ungrateful for U.S. assistance and “isolated from reality.” He called Karzai’s comments “erratic,” adding, “Why don’t you just poke me in the eye with a needle! You’ve got to be kidding me . I’m sorry, we just gave you $11.6 billion and now you’re telling me, I don’t really care?”
And:
You can teach a man how to fish, or you can give them a fish …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.
According to the AP, this person also said the Afghans don’t understand the extent to which the U.S. is in economic distress or the “sacrifices that America is making to provide for their security
I couldn’t agree more with this person’s observations, and I know they carry more weight than mime — much more weight. This person happens to be Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller, No. 2 general in charge of training Afghan troops and police.
Fuller’s words carry so much more weight that, on Friday, Maj. Gen. Fuller was relieved of command by Marine Gen. John R. Allen, commander of all U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Gen Allen said in a statement:
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…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.
According to the AP:
There was no indication whether Fuller will be reassigned or if he would retire.
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A native of Andover, Mass., Fuller was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1980 after graduating from the University of Vermont with a bachelor of arts in history and political science. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa.
Not much reaction from the Pentagon, but plenty of (unedited) reaction from — for example — readers of the military oriented Stars and Stripes:
We finally have a senior leader who is willing to tell the public the unvarnished truth and his supervisor doesn’t have the courage to stand by him. Not difficult to determine which is the politician and which is the leader. Disgraceful and embarrassing.
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General Allen should have been thinking about the sacrifices of our fine dedicated troops instead of trying to cover for that corrupt phoney Karzai and his criminal cronies. Such a knee jerk reaction of General Allen questions his leadership abilities. He should have fell on his sword for General Fuller if necessary because General Fuller told the truth. That would have been an example of true leadership.
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This is really sad. It’s about time the folks at the top stopped calling their staff out and firing them for telling the truth. Karzai’s government is a bottomless pit of erratic behavior and policies, corruption, and is willing to support Pakistan if the US ever goes to war with the Paki’s. Let’s hope we never are stupid enough to go down that endless rabbit hole, and someone throw our troops a life line; a way out of this mess.
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The political storm on this is just about to start. General Allen should have been fired for not supporting General Fuller for telling the truth.
Image, courtesy rollingstone.com
10 Responses to “A Two-Star General Speaks Frankly about ‘Our Ally,’ Hamid Karzai”
Karzai is a corrupt jackal. A prime example of strange, nay horrific, bedfellows generated in time of trouble.
I really, really, REALLY don’t like Rush Limabaugh. But I’d take a bullet for him, or any fellow American, before I’d walk across the street to Karzai if he was on fire. Now that Osama is dead, there is no reason for us to be there still supporting Karzai, his corrupt cronies, or the drug lords he protects. That country is going to become no more stable due to our presence. Lets get the hell out of there.
I deplore what Karzai said. I wish that Gen. Fuller would not have been fired. However, I also know (both from history and from being a commissioned officer) that soldiers are not supposed to make political statements. This is especially true about (at least supposed) allies.
We do need to get out of Afghanistan, but it is not for the soldiers to decide when. It is also not for them to decide to ‘tell the truth’ concerning political situations unless specifically ordered to do so (ex. Congress).
I note the Marine Corps Birthday is just a few days away (Nov. 10th), and I salute Gen. Fuller for his courage in speaking out.
I think the time has come to let the Afghans sort out their own future -without our input or assistance.
If they need help, Pakistan’s ISI (intelligence service) will be more than willing to re-invade their country (as a buffer against India,no doubt.)
While I agree with Fuller’s comments, part of being in the military is knowing when to shut up. Fuller failed at that part and was appropriately relieved of command. It’s not much different than the McChrystal situation.
Fuller knew what he was doing. He knew what the consequences would be.
The general had had a belly full. What troop commander in his right mind would want his young soldiers dying for a country headed by such a corrupt, slimy, I applaud him.
I agree with JJ…he knew what he was doing and the consequences. This is no different that a whistle blower calling out a nasty organization…just in this case, it is an entire government.
Karzai takes out money and laughs. He’ll bail after we leave because there is no way he can hold Kabul.
I agree he knew what he was doing and the consequences, but I’m not sure this was a good decision. I’d rather have Fuller keep his mouth shut and be able to continue in command since he seemed to appreciate the situation. Now we’ll probably get some toady yes-man in there.
Of course there’s the possibility Fuller felt his mission was futile, and that he wanted out.
Its a good indication of whats going on. We all know Fuller was telling it like it is, then we all get to see him taken out for a trip to the woodshed. When you see honesty punished, it puts a line in the sand, and you get to pick which side of it you are on.
I can’t help but think of another Marine general- Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller- who was denied a much-deserved spot as Commandant of the Marine Corps because he spoke out in favor of tough training, and, in an area infested with Southern Baptists, said the Marines needed “more beer and less Pogiebait (candy)”.
Just to be clear: I agree with Fuller. In WWII, two German Field Marshals (one was a 4-star general until the end) faced the dilemma of disobeying Hitler or siding with their troops. Rommel chose his troops, Paulus chose to obey Hitler. Rommel is known as a great commander, Paulus eventually switched sides after realizing that Hitler had abandoned him and his men.
Fuller very likely did what he believed was needed to preserve the lives of his men. I would do the same. I was only specifying (as many of you have acknowledged) that Fuller, just like MacArthur, was making a political statement. (btw, I disagree with MacArthur’s blabbing, but that, once again, is just my humble opinion).