A US official based in a province of Afghanistan is reported to have resigned because of serious doubts about the Afghan war.
The Washington Post reports he is the first such official known to have done so.
The newspaper has published the resignation letter of the official, Matthew Hoh.
The BBC reports his letter prompted officials to offer him a job in the US embassy in Kabul, but he declined. The resignation became final in October.
{{The Post described the resignation as sending "ripples all the way to the White House".
Published extracts from the letter to the State Department personnel section said:
"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."
Mr Hoh said he decided to speak out because "I want people in Iowa, people in Arkansas, people in Arizona, to call their congressman and say, 'Listen, I don't think this is right'. "
