Global Research

In fact, so-called “mistaken attacks” launched by the armed forces of the United States and other countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on innocent civilians has occurred frequently in not only Afghanistan but also Iraq, Pakistan and Libya. It was not the first and definitely not the last savage act committed by U.S. troops.

[A] series of disgusting and violent actions committed by U.S. troops, including shooting civilians, maltreatment of corpses, torturing prisoners and burning the Quran, have all reflected that U.S. soldiers are usually self-righteous and arrogant and regard themselves as “saviors.”

The United States launched a series of wars in the past 10 years, including the Afghanistan war and Iraq war, and how many innocent civilians have been killed during these wars? According to relevant researches, the number is larger than 100,000!

March 11 was a dark day for Afghanistan. In the early hours of Sunday morning, an unknown number of U.S. soldiers left a military base in Kandahar province and gunned down 16 innocent Afghan civilians, including nine children and three women, in villages about one mile away from the base.

The 16 villagers, who were sleeping soundly, were all shot dead in their heads and some of their bodies were burnt after they were killed.

The number of the killers is still unknown, and whether the killings are murders or just an accidental event remains to be investigated. However, no matter what, it was undoubtedly another crime U.S. troops committed in Afghanistan.

The shooting spree has fueled Afghans’ indignation against the United States to an unprecedented level. The Taliban said that its fighters will “take revenge on the invaders and the savage murderers for every single martyr.”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai fiercely condemned the “murder and terror” brought by U.S. forces. In an attempt to ease anger in Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama called Karzai to express his condolences to the victims and promised to “investigate the event as quickly as possible and to hold fully accountable anyone responsible.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan voiced “shock and sadness” at the tragic incident. In addition, the international community has also strongly condemned the killings.

Sixteen innocent lives have been lost. It has not only added fuel to the anti-U.S. fire in Afghanistan but also made bad U.S.-Afghanistan relations even worse, which has heavily impacted the United States’ strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Such words as “craziness” and “slaughter” have widely appeared in U.S. news reports and the comments of U.S. websites, and many people are questioning the Afghanistan war: What is the significance of the war? Some say that the U.S. government tells us that the Afghan people welcome us, but actually it is not the truth at all. Some call on the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan immediately. Some criticize that it was a wrong strategy that Barack Obama sent more troops to Afghanistan in 2009.

The United States is actually preparing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. Currently, it is discussing the Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Hamid Karzai administration, making arrangements for the “post-withdraw era.” Especially, the agreement still allows U.S. troops to be stationed in Afghanistan as advisors after the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces in 2014.

But this incident of shooting civilians may add new uncertainties to the signing of the agreement. More Americans believe that the cost of the Afghanistan war is too high and they are losing their patience. The United States’ Western allies have also expressed that they will withdraw their troops from Afghanistan ahead of schedule. Trapped in the muddy pool of war in Afghanistan, the United States is in a dilemma and cannot make a decision.

In fact, so-called “mistaken attacks” launched by the armed forces of the United States and other countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on innocent civilians has occurred frequently in not only Afghanistan but also Iraq, Pakistan and Libya. It was not the first and definitely not the last savage act committed by U.S. troops.

In addition to some objective reasons, maybe the United States should examine itself in two aspects:

First, U.S. troops do not respect the values, religious beliefs, lifestyles and basic human rights of the people of other countries.

Barack Obama said in his statement that this incident does not represent U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the United States’ respect for the Afghan people. However, a series of disgusting and violent actions committed by U.S. troops, including shooting civilians, maltreatment of corpses, torturing prisoners and burning the Quran, have all reflected that U.S. soldiers are usually self-righteous and arrogant and regard themselves as “saviors.”

Second, war is not a game but means casualties. As long as the engine of war is still running, tragedies like that will continue to occur. The United States launched a series of wars in the past 10 years, including the Afghanistan war and Iraq war, and how many innocent civilians have been killed during these wars? According to relevant researches, the number is larger than 100,000! Who should be blamed for it?

In order to solve the issue thoroughly, the war must be ended as soon as possible, and the action of using war to solve problems must be stopped.

The international community should organize a neutral and independent investigation group for this violent case perpetrated by U.S. troops and give the Afghan people a fair and just explanation and result.

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