KARACHI: According to a recent news report, 349 American military soldier suicides were recorded in 2012, which far exceeds American combat deaths in Afghanistan. Some experts are claiming that this current year will see more suicides than the ones recorded in 2012 and that this dark trend will continue.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has termed the American soldiers’ suicide an epidemic. These suicides indicate the level of strain and stress that military personnel are under and how much frustration they go through. The Pentagon’s military and civilian leaders have also acknowledged that there is lot of work to be done in order to find out the causes of these suicides.
They very clearly indicate that American military personnel are now fed up with this war, which seems to have brought no benefits. Instead of decreasing terrorism around the globe, it seems to have given a fillip to terror outfits in different parts of the world.
After the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan has faced a lot of difficulties in the form of increased extremism and terrorism. Over 40,000 people have been killed and around $90 billion have been wasted in this war. It is now time that Nato and especially the US understand that this war in Afghanistan is creating more problems than it is resolving.
Mubashir Mahmood
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2013.
