By Alberto Pupo

Why are we still in Afghanistan? This is the question that any rational American should be asking him or herself on a daily basis. More than a decade of fighting and occupation in a foreign nation far removed from our own. A waste of American lives, money and time. Now with the recent happenings civilian life is being wasted further as well and the image and reputation of America continues to slide across the world. Why is this Afghanistan madness as so many are calling us to do the honorable thing and simply put an end to decade long mistake started by a a mad cowboy and his cadre of goons. The time to leave Afghanistan is now, no more extending of the deadline is necessary as clearly soldiers are now feeling a mental breakdown

The recent killing of civilians in Afghanistan is called a tragedy by President Obama. Military Brass can only shake their heads and decry the tragedy. Clearly however this so called tragedy and senseless taking of civilian lives could have been prevented. A soldier recently suffers a break down taking the lives of 16 civilians. Once again a “lone gunman” set to respond for the failures of the Us Military. Evidence comes to light that the man had suffered a brain injury, a man already suffering from the trauma of a different war placed into another war zone. As a soldier he never deserted because that too would have been deemed a crime in the eyes of the military. He continued serving until he died, and may most likely suffer the death penalty for his actions. Ye the travesty should not simply fall upon this one man as he is merely the fall guy for a systemic failure which goes all the way to the top.

Military officials should have seen the crime coming. They could have prevented this from happening by taken the adequate and necessary precautions. They could have stopped it by realizing that a man who has already been numerous times in a war zone is bound to snap at any moment. The media wants to thrust everything upon this individual and while he pulled the trigger, the military is an environment of strict obedience it is the superiors who are ultimately responsible. The military should have known. He has been previously injured and in a third tour of duty, yet instead they simply cleared him for action to go back to serving when the man needed respite,. He should have been discharged and sent home and recover after all the injuries he had previously sustained, but just because of the unnecessary war he continued and now the consequences will be even more dire, as the actions have angered the Afghans further to the point of a physical retaliation, once again there no winners in this tragedy.

Why are we still in Afghanistan? Any remnants of the so called Al Queda threat are long gone!The big boogie man has been shot dead as well. Shouldn’t it be time to stop occupying a foreign nation? Shouldn’t it be time to get our troops back home after getting into two erroneous wars that have solved nothing? Why are we still there? Could it be that it is important to continue to indulge the Military Industrial Complex and continue testing new Hi-Tech Drones? Could it be perhaps that the lure of the opium trade is yet another way for America to profit from the misadventures of the “Global War on Terror?” Most likely these are the only reasons we continue top sacrifice lives, time and money. Truly sad that this is the perception of a Nation which claims to be the Beacon of Freedom and a shining example of Democracy.