Why do American Soldiers Stationed in Afghanistan Repeatedly “Lose Control?”

March 11 was a dark day for Afghanistan. In the early hours of the morning on that day, an American soldier left his base in Kandahar province, walked one mile, burst into a residence in the nearby village and opened fire on the sleeping villagers. Sixteen innocent civilians died, all killed by shots to the head. Some of the bodies were then set on fire. Those killed included nine children and three women.

This massacre is still shrouded in mystery: Was it perpetrated by a lone murderer, or a group? Was it a premeditated massacre, or an inexplicable, isolated incident? Regardless of how it happened, the U.S. Army has committed another crime against the Afghan people. The incident is like a single stone causing a thousand ripples, further fanning the flames of the peoples’ anger. It has aroused an intense reaction within Afghanistan and anti-Americanism has reached an unprecedented high. The Afghan Taliban released a statement, promising to “take revenge on the invaders and the savage murderers for every single martyr.” The Afghan president Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the “murderous” behavior of the U.S. Army. The U.S. also attempted to quickly extinguish the fire: President Obama released a statement expressing grief for the Afghan victims and promising that the U.S. would “get the facts as quickly as possible and to hold accountable anyone responsible,” and spoke on the phone with President Karzai. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan expressed “shock and sadness” regarding this tragedy. The international public has also strongly denounced it.

The loss of 16 innocent lives not only threw gas on the fire of Afghan anti-Americanism, but also iced over U.S.-Afghan relations and struck a blow to the American Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy. Words like “crazy” and “massacre” have appeared in U.S. news reports and in posts on websites, raising doubts about the war in Afghanistan and its meaning. Some say when the government tells us that the Afghan people welcome us, this is merely them believing their own lies. Some call on America to immediately withdraw from Afghanistan and some are critical of Obama, saying that sending large scale reinforcements in 2009 has been a “failed strategy.”

America is actively preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan. At present, they have started working with the Karzai government to discuss a strategic partnership agreement in preparation for the “post-withdrawal era.” In particular, the U.S. is negotiating allowing some American soldiers to remain in Afghanistan as “advisors” after the 2014 withdrawal of combat personnel. But the shooting may have added new variables to the signing of that agreement. More and more Americans feel that the price of the war in Afghanistan has been too high and are losing patience. America’s western allies are announcing one after another that they will withdraw early from Afghanistan. Because it is stuck deep in the swamp of Afghanistan, America is surrounded on all sides by difficulties, and though it wants to get out, it can’t.

Why do U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan repeatedly “lose control”? In fact, whether it’s in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Libya, American and NATO troops’ so-called “accidental attacks” against innocents occur frequently. This isn’t the first case of this kind of violent behavior from U.S. troops, and it definitely won’t be the last case. Apart from a few objective causes, there are two things about the “War on Terror” that need to be seriously reconsidered.

One is that American soldiers lack respect for the values, religious beliefs, lifestyles and basic human rights of the peoples of other countries. Even though Obama emphasized in his statement that this incident does not represent “the exceptional character of our military and the respect that the United States has for the people of Afghanistan,” the reckless killing of civilians, abuse of bodies, abuse of prisoners, burning of the Koran and other incidents that have occurred at the hands of the U.S. Army without exception reflect their overconfident, arrogant, “world savior” mentality. The second is that war is not a game; blood will be spilled. As long as the machines of war are still rumbling along, this kind of tragedy will continue to occur. America repeatedly starts wars. The Afghan war and the Iraq war are both in their tenth year.* In that time how many innocent civilians have been injured or killed? The number obtained from the relevant research has already surpassed 100,000! Who should be held accountable for this figure?

If the root of the problem is to be addressed, the only solution is to end the war as soon as possible and to stop abusing military power. The international community should organize a neutral, independent, international investigative group to address this incident of violent behavior within the U.S. Army, and give the Afghan people a just, legally based interpretation of the events.

*Editor’s Note: The war in Afghanistan began in 2001. The war in Iraq began in 2003.