AFGHANISTAN - Killings Chopping the Legs Off U.S. Goals

This is getting RIDICULOUS! We (U.S.) are not just shooting ourselves in the foot, we are cutting our legs off.

The DoD needs to get their act together and pay attention to physiological condition of our troops, especially those who have been in Afghanistan often and for long deployments. The longer our troops have been there, the closer they should be physiologically evaluated.

"In Afghanistan, Furor Rises Over Civilian Killings" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 3/12/2012

Excerpt

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): A massacre in the middle of the night, Afghan civilians slaughtered as they slept, an American soldier the lone suspect.

U.S. officials struggled to make sense of those stark facts today, as Afghans demanded justice.

Ray Suarez begins our coverage.

Now, the understatement.....

"Afghan Civilian Killings Give Taliban 'Valuable Propaganda,' Analyst Says" (Part-2)
PBS Newshour 3/12/2012


Excerpt

STEVE CLEMONS, New America Foundation: Well, I think this has given the Taliban an edge and a piece of very valuable propaganda.

I think that whatever may be going on behind the scenes in trying to negotiate some deal with the Taliban, with the Afghan government's inclusion and the Pakistan government allowing it to happen, that the correlation of forces, if you will, just shifted a bit more towards the Taliban, that whatever edge we thought we might have had gave way somewhat with this incident.

And I think that, to a certain degree -- and I agree with Seth that this has been, you know, such a cauldron of horror for so long for so many people that part of the issue internally is, the Taliban have done awful things. But the United States was the trusted player. Many Afghans look at the fact that inside their country, they see Iran, they see China, they see India, they see others meddling inside their domestic operation.

And the U.S. was supposed to be the trusted ally. And this makes it easier. . .

GWEN IFILL (Newshour): It didn't sound like that coming from Hamid Karzai.

STEVE CLEMONS: No, no. And I don't think he can position himself to be that close to the United States while there is so much anger about this incident.

And I think that really does damage the ability to talk, because what most Afghans are beginning to realize -- and they have acquiesced to -- is the U.S. is on its way out. And they see two or three more decades of turmoil and civil war as being the life they're likely to have. And this makes the punctuation point of a departure point with the United States easier. And that's really tragic.