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Top US general in Afghanistan fired for criticizing Karzai

Other News Materials 5 November 2011 05:22 (UTC +04:00)
A top US Army general with the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan was fired Friday for "inappropriate public comments", a statement by the coalition military said, dpa reported.
Top US general in Afghanistan fired for criticizing Karzai

A top US Army general with the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan was fired Friday for "inappropriate public comments", a statement by the coalition military said, dpa reported.

General John Allen, top commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), relieved Major General Peter Fuller of his duties, effective immediately, over comments he made while performing temporary duty in the United States, the statement said.

Fuller had blasted the Afghan government and military in an interview Thursday with website Politico, calling the officials "isolated from reality" and President Hamid Karzai "erratic."

After Karzai's recent remark that Afghanistan would side with its neighbour if there was a war between the US and Pakistan, the two-star general was quoted as saying: "You've got to be kidding me. ... I'm sorry, we just gave you 11.6 billion dollars, and now you're telling me, 'I don't really care'?"

Fuller said Afghanistan was ungrateful for the sacrifices US troops have made.

"They don't understand the sacrifices that America is making to provide for their security," he said, "and I think that's part of my job - to educate 'em."

Fuller was the deputy commander for programmes at NATO's training mission in Afghanistan, a unit responsible for the training of Afghan national police and army so that they can take charge of security responsibilities when the foreign allies leave in 2014.

Allen said that US and NATO forces share a "solid relationship" with the Afghan government and its leadership and the comments were "unfortunate" and not indicative of "our joint commitment to prevail" in the war-torn country.

"The Afghan people are an honourable 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," Allen said in a statement.

Fuller joined the Afghan mission in May. No comments were made whether he would retire or be assigned another position elsewhere.

Last year, the then-top commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, US General Stanley McChrystal, was fired by President Barack Obama for making disparaging comments about the administration in a magazine interview.

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