The Village Rampage

I was very saddend and angered to learn of the rampage of a lone U.S. soldier through a remote Afghanistan village that left seventeen Afghans civilians dead and five injured—including women and children.

 This is the last thing the American mission in Afghanistan needs given the already high tensions over the recent Quran burning and the ensuing protests. The Afghan people have grown tired of the perceived American population and this heinous incident may only strengthen the calls for America’s withdraw.

From a personal level, this episode is an insult to the good and decent men and women in uniform I’ve met through my classes and otherwise. We must not let the actions of one deranged man desecrate the good works performed by our upstanding men and women.

For military investigators, you need to conduct a thorough investigation that is open and transparent to the damning eyes of Afghan society. I know this probably isn’t the military way of doing business, but it’s the only way I see to attempt to save face here.