REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK
Afghanistan’s serious questions (Part 3)
US Army Colonel Lawrence Sellin gets the sack from his staff job at Kabul Nato/Isaf headquarters.
Published On 30 Aug 2010
Since my last installment focused on the failure of US command leadership in running America’s longest ever war, I couldn’t help but follow up with a small but important sign of hope that some senior military officers get it. 
It seems that Army Colonel Lawrence Sellin was sacked from his staff job at Kabul Nato/Isaf headquarters for publishing this daring op-ed critique of the US military’s organisational culture from within the cubicles of Nato/Isaf’s Joint Command.  
Little surprise.  It must have been an awkward ‘morning after’ once UPI sent it to press. 
As always, my friend and fellow blogger Spencer Ackerman offers a most entertaining analysis.
Note:  One secret admirer of Col. Sellin’s article may be US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whose convictions to drastically cut the amount of senior US officers kicked off yet another insurgency for him to deal with. Secretary Gates might instead consider putting Colonel Sellin in charge of his top-officer reduction project.  Clearly this is one senior officer who values principal over his next promotion.