Really interesting article in today's WaPo about an ex-marine, Matthew Ho, who was a member of the foreign service.
"I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan. I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."
Also available is the 4 page pdf reference letter.
Basically, his argument is that the Afghanis will resist any intruder - even from the next valley.
It's a really interesting read and one that surprised me. He is getting a lot of attention for these ideas.
U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry brought him to Kabul and offered him a job on his senior embassy staff. Hoh declined. From there, he was flown home for a face-to-face meeting with Richard C. Holbrooke, the administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"We took his letter very seriously, because he was a good officer," Holbrooke said in an interview. "We all thought that given how serious his letter was, how much commitment there was, and his prior track record, we should pay close attention to him."
He resigned in order to speak out It is a very honorable avenue to pursue ("Hello, Colin, are you there …").
Obviously, he resigned in order to make his views known. Go read it!