Whose Football?

A lone American soldier walks off base in Afghanistan and shoots more than 17 people; kills 9 kids and 7 adults; in at least 3 homes. Sixteen dead. Tragic. 

Soldier in custody. Investigations are underway. We don’t know much about him but he trained at and was based out of Fort Lewis, Washington; father of at least two children. 

Now the real complexity begins.  Why did this event happen? Who specifically was involved? What safeguards keep this from happening more often? What can be done with the soldier. Is he guilty in the legal sense? Or did he snap psychologically and then do the deed? Even when we know all that, what do we do with him? And what do we learn about these matters so we can avoid them in the future? 

On the international diplomacy front, what do we do about Afghanistan? We say we are sorry. We follow through with the personnel issues and investigation. We maybe make reparations. But we do not admit national guilt over the actions of one person acting on his own. The Taliban does not own this issue. Neither does the US. The entire Afghan population does. 

Our military mission in Afghanistan is complete. International NATO forces have assumed command of the theater of war while the international community decides if the theater is needed in the first place. Osama Bin Laden was found, captured and killed. So were many of his henchmen. His saga, our 9/11 tragedy and the huge aftermath of all of that, has gone on now for 11 years. It is time to put a halt to it.

The Taliban has controlled Afghanistan for generations. The people have been unable to control their own destiny without popinjay tyrants and despots rising, ruling and despoiling the country. That is their issue, not America’s. Peace in the world demands that something be done about it, but our platform of ‘success’ there does not provide a launch pad for the task of stabilizing Afghanistan. Karzai is on his own; his team apparently is as cruel and greedy as their predecessors. Perhaps nicer; but just as destructive in the long run.  

What American diplomacy and foreign aid has provided for new stability has been bombed and erased. People have been annihilated even as we have trained them to police their own nation, teach their own children, and serve the needs of the people more professionally. Nearly every thing we have put in place has been destroyed. This is ultimately the choice of the Afghanis. It is their country, not ours. 

It is time for US troops to be removed from that nation. The international community joined us in fighting terrorism; it is their fight now, not America’s alone. We have done yeoman service, spent $3 trillion dollars over the past 11 years in Iraq and Afghanistan, and lost over 6000 lives of our fighting force; on top of that well over 30,000 wounded, severely wounded, military personnel have borne the weight of the war and will until the end of their lives.  

It is time to stop our engagement with Afghanistan. Say we are sorry for that which we could not control, but wish them well in handling their own destiny. They are welcome for our efforts. And. Oh yes, control your opium fields or we will incinerate them repeatedly. That’s to safeguard future generations of global youth from heroin addiction. 

The Taliban will seek revenge. Funny. The only people who brought revenge to them was the US Military. The revenge game goes on and on, just like a kid arguing over the rules of the pick up football game when he owns the ball. So much of international relations seem to fall to this lowest common denominator. 

Surely we can do better? Walk away from the fight with our heads held high. We have given full measure to the good fight. The original mission is complete. Turn away toward other challenges that beckon our attention. 

Pity about the Afghanis. Hundreds of years and no resolution. It is their culture. It is their religious fractiousness. Many foreign powers have entered their land to help them bring order. All have failed. All. Perhaps that is their destiny until they decide otherwise? 

Whose football is it? Not ours.

March 14, 2010