US official WHO resigned over Afghan war urges Pakistan stability

By NNN-APP,

Washington : Matthew Hoh, a former Foreign Service officer and former Marine Corps captain who last month became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, has urged supportieve efforts towards Pakistan’s stability.


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He believes the goal of stability in Pakistan cannot be achieved through a huge military imprint in neighboring Afghanistan.

“I feel that our two goals in that region should be the defeat of al-Qaeda and the stabilization of Pakistan (because of its possession of nuclear weapons and because of its history/relationship with India),” he said in an online discussion hosted by The Washington Post.
Hoh said he does not claim to be a Pakistan expert but understood very well that “we need to dedicate resources (personnel and money-but not troops) to ensure Pakistan’s government remains successful.”

“I don’t know if this means we toughen our stance with Pakistan (to the point we threaten our lack of support) or whether we provide support in total with no strings attached,” he added.

“Regardless, 60,000 troops in Afghanistan, does not stabilize Pakistan. If anything, evidence suggests our presence in Afghanistan has destabilized Pakistan,” he remarked.

Hoh’s comments came as President Barack Obama’s war council neared a conclusion on a viable way forward in Afghanistan, where eight years after invasion of the landlocked country, U.S.-led forces are struggling to contain a fierce Taliban insurgency.

The idea of troops surge, as proposed by top U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen Stanley McChrystal, is one of the most hotly debated parts of the ongoing discussions and reviews in the United States.

Obama national security advisers say they are alive to Pakistan’s concerrns about a massive military buildup on the Afghan side while Congressional leaders including Senator John Kerry have warned against destabilizing effect of such a move on Pakistan.

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