When Suicide Eclipses Combat Deaths

Suicides among American troops are averaging nearly one a day this year. 154 active-duty soldiers have committed suicide in the first 155 days of 2012.

This reflects an 18% increase from the same time period last year and a 25% increase from 2010. Military suicides have even eclipsed combat deaths in Afghanistan during the same period.

The reasons for this increase are uncertain though the increased stress placed on troops subjected to repeated tours of duty could play a role, coupled with the stigma attached with seeking mental health treatment among members of the military.

I am very much afraid that the United States may win the combat portion of the war, while being woefully unprepared for the aftermath of war.

War does not end with the last bullet fired, or the last convey out of town.

Thousands of soldiers may find themselves unable to leave the war behind. Incidence of PTSD and suicidal veterans threaten to overwhelm the mental healthcare system that is already overburdened in many states.

If America is unequipped for the consequences of war, we need to reconsider the conduct of war.

Afghanistan: When Quarans Burn

The recent Quran burning by a group of US troops at Bagram Air Base and the subsequent protests that took place on the streets of Afghanistan have shined a disturbing light on a continued American insensitivity to the Afghan culture that is only adding to the difficult task of our mission there.

Afghanis are already enflamed over the continued use of nighttime air raides on family compounds and see the continued presence of American troops on Afghan soil as a humiliation. It is my fear that the recent burning of the Quran coupled with the recent massacre will send Afghanistan into an ethnic inferno.

Given the many recent missteps in Afghanistan, it seems wise to ask the question whether we should disengage from Afghanistan. There is a huge trust gulf between the military forces and The Afghan people that will only be emboldened with our continued presence.

 If we continue to disrespect the Afghan culture, whether we deem it rational or not. If we can’t accomplish trust and mutual respect than any mission we are hoping to accomplish becomes mute and pointless.

The American mission may lose itself in a cloak of imperialism, if we aren’t careful.

Opium Nation

According to the United Nations, Afghanistan is responsible for ninety percent of the world’s opium supply, despite improved eradication efforts. Opium cultivation has risen 7% in 2011 over last year and production has increased by 61%. Growers site economic hardship and high prices for opium crops as key reasons for growing poppy crops that eventually become opium.

 Government attempts at eradication are seen as attacks on farmers livelihoods in the absence of a replacement crop that provides a similar revenue stream and has created a source of recruits for the Taliban. Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/1011/Afghanistan-still-world-s-top-opium-supplier-despite-10-years-of-US-led-war

No country wants to be known as a narcotic state, given all the problems opiates bring upon society, but without a meaningful alternative, what does the international community expect? In places like Afghanistan, survival is the name of the game, and if growing and cultivating opium will give you, as a peasant farmer the best chance to survive, why would you change?

 This is a government issue, either search for meaningful crops that provide livelihoods or shut up about opium plants within your country. At the end of the day, its’ all about making a living and surviving.