After the massacre of Afghan civilians by another alleged "lone gunman" this past week, I was appalled to hear the U.S. and British heads of state recommit to having troops continue the senseless killing, now in its 11th year, in Afghanistan. However, since I was not surprised by that, I am more disturbed that the U.S. Government, with the daily propaganda of its captive media outlets, has been able to mute any significant anti-Afghan protests. One would have thought that, with the economic destruction brought about by the policies of the Bush regime, that "Vietnam II" protests would be the norm, FORCING the media, by now, to make this issue front and center in their reporting.
I dare say that the latest war crime is only one of many committed by U.S. troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan during the past decade, the majority which have been covered up by the U.S. Government, and the military in particular. Bush and Cheney were responsible for making the torture and killing of Iraqis and Afghans for sport an acceptable "entertainment" in the eyes of many right-wing recruits, so such incidents as the latest should be no surprise. But let us hope that this terrible incident finally encourages more and more Americans to publicly condemn the Afghan war and to vocally demand that the billions of dollars wasted on this war be returned to pay for the needs of the millions of Americans presently suffering from lack of jobs, housing, and health care because of the reckless decisions of its leaders since 2001.
