The unprovoked attack by a single soldier that occurred in the Afghan villages of Najib Yan and Alokozai on March 11, in context with the other blunders this year, has called into question the effectiveness of our military and it’s operations in Afghanistan. We can no longer afford mistakes of this magnitude if we hope to be out of this war within the next decade, much less two years.
The most recent disaster has been dubbed the “Kandahar Massacre,” where 38 year-old Staff Sergeant Robert Bales allegedly shot and killed 16 innocent Afghan civilians, the majority of which were children. Eyewitness reports state that some of the victims were killed in their beds while they slept. Reports confirmed by the Associated Press state that the soldier placed 11 of the victims in a house and lit the bodies on fire.
This outrage is compounded by the “accidental” burnings of the Quran by personnel at a U.S air base last month, which led to riots, suicide car-bombings and shootings. Before that, a video was released online in January of four U.S. Marines urinating on Taliban bodies.
Despite these occurrences, White House spokesman Jay Carney released a statement saying that the U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies are still on track to hand over control of security to the Afghan Government by the end of 2014. It doesn’t take a Four-Star General to see that this plan’s chances of success have been severely diminished by this heinous attack and the disrespect, whether accidental or not, of Islam and the Afghani people by American troops. It wouldn’t be surprising that two years from now the military will not have left Afghanistan, which would again put strain on its already tense relationship with the U.S.
Of course, the White house has issued apologies to the Afghani government and people but this may not be enough; serious steps must be taken. In the case of the soldier, the exact reason for the attack is still being investigated and his name has yet to be released to the public. Since the attack he has been moved to Kuwait and will be judged by an American court. This is a mistake. This man murdered 16 Afghan citizens and as such should be tried and sentenced under Afghani law. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it would also give closure to the people who entered their homes to find their wives, husbands and children shot dead on the floor.
Critics would call this appeasement and a sign of weakness, but appeasement is needed.  Many do not understand that our armies are in Afghanistan to train security forces to deal with groups like the Taliban or al-Qaida on their own so that America doesn’t have to hold their hand. This will become impossible if the very people our troops are there to train do not trust them and eventually turn on them. We have been in this war long enough and it has cost many lives and dollars. It must end and it will, but only if our soldiers remember that even though they risk life and limb in the field they also represent the American people and that behaviors and incidents such as the above are unacceptable. But it is important to realize that individuals committed these offenses and not the military as a whole.
The soldiers, both men and women, deployed in Afghanistan need the support of their family, friends and government to come home safely and whole; in the physical and mental sense. Consider the case of Bales, a man with a wife, two kids and beloved by his community, who killed over a dozen people without any apparent cause. Why would someone do this? Bales saw three tours in Iraq, where he undoubtedly witnessed violence on a constant basis and the loss of many friends to that violence. After these tours he was then sent to Afghanistan after a very short repreive.
The powers that be in charge of deploying our forces (and the military court that will judge Bales) must recognize that Bales is only human and possibly snapped under the strain, leading to his rampage. While this doesn’t excuse his actions, it definitely points out that we need to rethink our stratgy with the wealfare of our soldiers in mind. On paper, rushing towards the 2014 deadline sounds great, but it will put more pressure on our soldiers and will do more harm than good.