When you reach the end of this entry, you may feel that I could have written more. I agree, but I felt that anything more would dilute the message.
A single U.S. soldier goes on a rampage in Afghanistan killing 16 civilians. The Taliban vows to avenge the killings. When the Taliban attacks the U.S. military, more Afghanis will be killed. The the Taliban seeks vengeance again, and more Afghanis will be killed. Each act of violence by one side increases the resolve of the other side to continue the fight. And on and on it goes.
In the land of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, everybody becomes blind and toothless.
A better strategy to get the U.S. out of Afghanistan would for Afghanis to drop off single flowers at every U.S. base in Afghanistan and simply say, "Please go home." Every time an Afghani sees a U.S. soldier, he or she should say, "Please go home."
