By Arsalan Iftikhar, Special to CNN
March 12, 2012
(CNN) — Nearly two years ago in June 2010, the war in Afghanistan surpassed the Vietnam War to become the longest war in American history. Although the U.S. ousted the Taliban from power and killed Osama bin Laden last year in Pakistan, it is clear that recent incidents, including the tragic killing of civilians by a U.S. soldier, are costing Americans the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan.
As a result, there should be real concern that the lives of nearly 2,000 American troops and more than 14,000 Afghan civilians who have been killed during this decade-long war could have been lost in vain.
The most recent blow to the NATO mission in Afghanistan is the dreadful story of an American soldier who apparently “went rogue” in a night-time shooting massacre and allegedly murdered at least 16 innocent civilians, including nine children and three women, Sunday morning near a U.S. base in southern Afghanistan.
Continue reading Arsalan’s March 2012 CNN column HERE…
