Apologies for excerpt length - State Dept presser:
Quote:
Ian Kelly
Department Spokesman
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
October 27, 2009
QUESTION: Can I just – now pick up the question about – the resignation of Matthew Hoh, who was working for the State Department in Afghanistan and has made public a somewhat depressing three-page letter about the reasons for his resignation, and he talks about his loss of understanding and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States presence there.
Is this – how does the State Department view this? Is this an embarrassment of sorts, the fact that it’s become so public? It’s on the front page of the Post today.
MR. KELLY: Well, first of all, we admire Mr. Hoh. We respect the sacrifice that he’s made for his country, both in Iraq and signing up to join our effort in Afghanistan. We take his opinions very seriously. Senior officials on the ground in Afghanistan and here in Washington have talked to him, have heard him out. We respect his right to dissent. This is an old and respected tradition in the Foreign Service, that Foreign Service personnel have the right to express their dissent.
Just to give you a little more background on his affiliation with the State Department, he signed on for a limited appointment. It is a non-career appointment. He signed on March 29th of this year and his employment lasted up until September 28. He submitted his letter of resignation a few weeks before that. He was signed on as a political officer in a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan in Zabul. And his role as a PRT political officer was to monitor and report on political and economic developments in his province.
As I say, we take his point of view very seriously. But we continue to believe that we are on track to achieving the goal that the President has set before us, and that’s – you heard Deputy Secretary Lew lay out some of those objectives: improving Afghan governance; providing security, infrastructure, jobs, basically giving the Afghan people an alternative to the very negative vision of the Taliban and al-Qaida. And this is the strategy, and as I say, we believe we're on track reaching the goals...
QUESTION: Then I’m not – I’m unclear as to how he actually fits into the Foreign Service.
MR. KELLY: It’s – there is a provision of the Foreign Service Act that gives the Secretary the right to designate certain positions as limited with a time certain end date in order to fill positions that have not been filled through the normal Foreign Service process. And so this was one of them. We have, I think a total in the world, about 16 of these type appointments. It’s not – it’s fairly rare...
QUESTION: So this is under Foreign Service, but he is not considered --
MR. KELLY: This is under Foreign Service.
QUESTION: -- a Foreign Service officer, he’s not commissioned as a Foreign Service officer?
MR. KELLY: He’s not commissioned as a Foreign Service officer, yeah...
QUESTION: Pardon me, last question about how we bill this story. It – I mean, it’s – is it – it’s not really comparable to, say, the career diplomats who left the service over Bosnia or, you know, other big disagreements.
MR. KELLY: Yeah. I mean, I actually – I have a few friends who --
QUESTION: Or is it?
MR. KELLY: -- who resigned over Bosnia and Iraq. And these were people who had career appointments, who had a number of years into the Foreign Service, a real investment in the Foreign Service. And because they could not accept the policy, they made a principled decision to resign.
I mean, I would draw – I mean, without minimizing the obvious passion and depth of feeling of Mr. Hoh in terms of his perception of the mission in Afghanistan, I would draw a distinction between his situation and somebody who had been in the Foreign Service and had a stake in the Foreign Service for 20 years or more.
QUESTION: So to your knowledge, there haven’t been any career Foreign Service officers who have resigned over Afghanistan?
MR. KELLY: To my knowledge, nobody has resigned over Afghanistan. No career officers, yeah.
CNN:
Quote:
Foreign Service Officer Matthew Hoh, a 36-year-old former Marine Corps captain, submitted his resignation letter on September 10...
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the administration respected Hoh's decision.
"We take his opinions very seriously," Kelly said. "Senior officials on the ground in Afghanistan and here in Washington have talked to him, have heard him out. We respect ... his right to dissent."
Hoh's resignation from a special one-year appointment appears, at least so far, to be an anomaly. No career Foreign Service officers have resigned from the State Department over Afghanistan policy, according to Kelly.
AFP:
Quote:
Describing Hoh as the State Department's "eyes and ears on the ground in Zabul," spokesman Ian Kelly said the department respected his departure.
"We take his opinions very seriously. Senior officials on the ground, in Afghanistan and here in Washington, have talked to him, have heard him out. We respect his right to dissent," said Kelly.
"In the end, he made his own decision that he decided to resign, and we respect that," Kelly said, adding that he agreed with some of Hoh's arguments, but not his conclusions.
PBS
Quote:
Meanwhile, a former U.S. Marine captain, Matthew Hoh, became the first U.S. official to resign in protest over the war. The Washington Post reported he quit his diplomatic post last month, saying the fighting only fueled the insurgency.
Today, a State Department spokesman had this to say.
IAN KELLY: Senior officials on the ground in Afghanistan and -- and here in -- in Washington have -- have talked to him, have -- have heard him out. We respect his -- his right to dissent. This is an old and respected tradition in the Foreign Service, that Foreign Service personnel have the -- have the right to express their -- their dissent.
And back to State:
Quote:
QUESTION: Well, on the same topic, publicly, some of the reports stated that Ambassador Holbrooke had actually agreed with some of Hoh’s analysis – not his conclusion, but some of his analysis. I wanted your reaction on what it is that Ambassador Holbrooke agreed with him on.
MR. KELLY: I’m not – just to be very frank, I’m not sure exactly what Ambassador Holbrooke – what specifically in the letter he agreed with. I’ve read the letter.
QUESTION: The date?
MR. KELLY: Sorry?
QUESTION: The date?
MR. KELLY: The date? I’m not sure I understand.
QUESTION: It’s a joke. Don’t worry.