10 years in Afghanistan


Tomorrow, October 7, 2011, will be the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

What has been achieved by 10 years, trillions of dollars, the loss of thousands of American lives, the loss of many thousands more Afghan lives, and physical and psychological wounds that will burden the lives of millions for their lifetimes? Should the US record in Afghanistan and Iraq be celebrated and honored?

View the realities of this war as portrayed in photos taken by Tyler Hicks in a dramatic photo essay.  Are the photos a portrayal of glories? Do we want our sons and daughters and grandchildren to partake? Or can you think of better lives both for them and for the people whose country we have invaded?

The Washington Post has an important site that allows you to see the Americans who have died in this war as individuals. Visit this page and see their faces, read their stories. Where is the evidence that their sacrifices have made the world—or even the US—safer for democracy?

The Afghans have faces too. Listen to the voices of Afghan children telling their stories in the video above.

What has the US accomplished in the last 10 years? As recently as Wednesday, September 28, 2011, a UN report cited by Reuters stated that Afghanistan “has become more insecure in 2011, with a sharp rise in security incidents and higher numbers of civilian casualties, displaced people and complex suicide attacks.” Moreover, few people believe that the US has become more secure since that invasion.

A just-released poll showed that “One in three U.S. veterans of the post-9/11 military believes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting.”

If you are lucky enough to be employed or living on adequate retirement funds, your taxes are financing the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and helping to make some of the richest Americans richer. Time for a change?

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology