(Opinion) Afghanistan: Shitstorm Central

In general all wars are pointless, but the war in Afghanistan has to take a very bloody biscuit. with no clear mission or even an exit strategy, the allied forces find themselves in a land were they are unwanted and hated in equal measure. They face an enemy who seem, despite heavy losses, to be two steps ahead and is slowly gaining support, a public who have as much appetite for occupation as they do for a shit sandwich, and a  political class and security force which are both corrupt and inept.

With the recent scandal involving a US soldier,suspected not to have acted alone, killing sixteen Afghanistan citizens, the already chainsaw proof tension between the people of Afghanistan and their western occupiers will intensify greatly. This incident comes in a growing line of  public relations nightmares with the burning of the koran by US troops and the released footage of US troops urinating on dead Taliban fighters, which not only seems to reveal a certain lack of discipline but the realization of the soldiers of just how pointless their mission is as it has become apparent this is a war that the allied forces cannot win .

This scandal will almost certainly culminate in revenge attacks most likely to be perpetrated by the Taliban, who have already sworn retribution.this will also serves as powerful recruitment propaganda for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda if lack of economic opportunity wasn't enough of a motivation. the Obama administration has set out to apologize for the afghan deaths caused by a US soldier knowing full well it won't help forestall the tragedies to come when even the US installed president 'mayor of Kabul' Karzai acknowledges such an act cannot be forgiven.

In sum, all arguments aside, pro or anti war, Afghanistan is not a country and hasn't been for last forty years. it has played the hostile host to tyrannical rulers, conquest hungry empires, and death and suffering beyond human imagination. the best favour or help the US can lend to the country is to leave and to leave quickly as an ill defined mission, the corrupt and inept organs of the afghan political system and security force, and the growing number of violent incidents involving US troops will surely lead to more loss of life on all sides in a nation that has grown accustomed to conflict.