Lynn C. Woolsey: “Sometimes it seems like the surest way to get in the most trouble is to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan.…”

“Sometimes it seems like the surest way to get in the most trouble is to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan. Witness the case of Major General Peter Fuller, whom Congressman Walter Jones just talked about. General Fuller was one of our troop commanders in Afghanistan until he decided to speak his mind. After President Karzai made the outrageous statement that he would back Pakistan in a war against the United States, Major General Fuller delivered a colorful and candid on-the-record reply. He said, ``Why don't you just poke me in the eye with a needle?'' He said this of President Karzai, whom he also described as erratic and ``isolated from reality.'' He added that the Afghan Government doesn't properly appreciate the enormous sacrifices Americans are making on Afghanistan's behalf, especially at a time when we have major economic challenges right here at home. And what was Major General Fuller's reward for telling it like it is? What did he get for expressing the frustration so many Americans feel? He was thrown immediately under the bus. He was fired, relieved of his command by General John Allen, who admonished General Fuller for ``inappropriate public comments.'' An interesting choice of words: ``inappropriate public comments.'' As Time magazine pointed out, the implication there seems pretty clear: What Major General Fuller had the audacity to say out loud--that the Karzai regime is feckless and corrupt--is what most people secretly believe.…”