Afghanistan Times
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And here comes a grisly report on human losses—the losses this nation sustained in the US war on terror during the past 14 years. This figure is horrific. The report says this war has left nearly 220,000 people killed following the 9/11 attacks in the US. This report has been the joint work of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Global Survival and the Noble Prize-winner International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. It reveals that a total of nearly 1.3 million people, directly and indirectly, have lost their lives to the war including 220,000 in Afghanistan, 80,000 in Pakistan and one million people in Iraq. The report says the figure is probably ten times higher than what the general public, analysts, decision makers, believe, and what has been projected by media and NGOs. The report titled—“Body Count: Casualty Figures after 10 Years of the War on Terror” says it was just a conservative estimation. It says the total number of killed in the countries where there war on terror is going on, could go beyond 2 million. The way the US started its war on terror was a blunder from the very outset. Soon after the 9/11 attacks, a gory state—the United States ran after those who carried out bombings on its soil, but lost the sight of the enemy and caused death and destruction in countries whose nationals were never part of the terror squad of 9/11. The US started its war in a land where it shouldn’t have. The United States could have eliminated al-Qaeda leaders in targeted operations, but Washington has its own political and security objectives. The US could have saved the lives of 1.3 million people. A terror squad killed nearly three thousand Americans and the US killed over a million Afghans, Iraqis and Pakistanis. To avenge the deaths of 3,000 people, the US killed 220,000 Afghans. Is this justice? The journey of Afghanistan from a theocratic setup to democratic transformation has been deadliest and when this troubled nation has already suffered so many huge setbacks, the US must not simply wrap up its mission. Though 14 years have lapsed, but this war doesn’t show any sign of coming to an end. Unfortunately, Afghanistan is driven by a never-ending war because since the then USSR invasion of Afghanistan till date the war has never ceased but has kept changing its shapes and phases. It’s not only driven by a never-ending war but also hit by occasional visits by natural disasters such as drought, landslides, earthquakes and avalanches. Women and children continued to be the worst victims of the war and natural disasters. In such a situation, the US decision to slow its military drawdown is worth appreciation. Logically, the US shouldn’t have waged such a fierce and deadliest war just to punish a few terrorists and when it has started, it must take it to a satisfactory end.
