I am the mother of an infantry soldier who recently returned from Zhari District, Kandahar, Afghanistan. I am heartbroken by the continued deaths, loss of limbs and suffering endured by our troops and their families. So few are being asked to sacrifice so much, while most Americans are quite oblivious to what is happening on the ground in Afghanistan. 

 

After watching President Obama’s speech about the new Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghanistan, I am left with too many questions.  

 

How much more horror must happen in Afghanistan before ending this nearly 11 year war?  How many more times will my son be sent into harm’s way in a war that’s wasting our country’s resources and not making us any safer?

 

At least 1,957 troops have died and 15,300 troops have been injured trying to create a stable Afghanistan.  We have lost 381 soldiers since Osama bin Laden was assassinated.  Yet after 11 years and over half a trillion dollars, the U.S. has not been able to stop the Taliban nor create an effective Afghan government.  

Why does the U.S. continue to support one of the most corrupt governments in the world - a government that the majority of Afghans neither trust nor support?  Our tax dollars are being used to “feather the nests” of these endlessly corrupt leaders and drug war lords. 

Common sense tells us that continuing on this same path will simply result in more of the same.  What have we gained?  

 

Why is it that neither the military nor our president can ever clearly explain how the U.S. benefits by another 2 years of combat?  Our troops could easily be home by the end of 2012.  How many more young lives will be sacrificed before 2014?

 

According to a White House Fact Sheet on the Strategic Partnership, this agreement maintains combat troops until the end of 2014, and provides for the possibility of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014, for the purposes of training Afghan Forces and targeting the remnants of al-Qaeda.  We have been told by Defense Secretary Panetta and the CIA that there are fewer than 100 Al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan, and fewer than 5,000 worldwide. Osama bin Laden has been dead for over a year. Why do we need tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to target less than 100 people? Al-Qaeda does not need to occupy Afghanistan, or any country, to do its dirty work. Why does the U.S. need to occupy Afghanistan to stop them?

Unfortunately, we are not being told the truth about the war in Afghanistan.   

 

Several months ago,  Lt. Col. Davis’ wrote a scathing report that illustrates that talks of progress in Afghanistan are flawed and nothing like the story our soldiers have experienced on the ground.  

 

The National Intelligence Estimate, signed by all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, clearly illustrates the quagmire in Afghanistan.  

 

Nonetheless, Congress refuses to hold public congressional hearings to inform the American public. 

 

There is no military solution in Afghanistan; the U.S. should be mediating negotiations with Afghanistan and their neighbors for a comprehensive political solution that will provide regional stability.  As the U.S. withdraws we must provide constructive, humanitarian assistance to independent agencies focused on making a stronger and safer independent Afghanistan.         

 

It is well past time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan.  It is our responsibility as Americans to stand up for our troops and support them in the best way we can: Ending the war in Afghanistan.  We need our elected officials in Congress to hold public hearings as called for in Davis’ “Dereliction of Duty” report, and cut off all funding for the war in Afghanistan, except for the safe and timely withdrawal of all troops.  

 

Mary Hladky, Springfield, OH

Mother of an Infantry Soldier

Board Member, Military Families Speak Out