Why U.S. forces in Afghanistan frequently out of control?

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

March 11 was a dark day for Afghanistan. In the early hours of Sunday morning, an unknown number of U.S. soldiers left a military base in Kandahar province, and gunned down 16 innocent Afghan civilians, including nine children and three women, in villages about one mile away from the base.

The 16 villagers, who were sleeping soundly, were all shot dead in their head, and some of their bodies were burnt after they were killed.

The number of the killers is still unknown, and whether the killings are murders or just an accidental event remains to be investigated. However, no matter what, it was undoubtedly another crime U.S. troops committed in Afghanistan. The shooting spree has fueled Afghans’ indignation against the United States to an unprecedented level. The Taliban said that its fighters will “take revenge from the invaders and the savage murderers for every single martyr.” Afghan President Hamid Karzai fiercely condemned the “murder and terror” brought by U.S. forces. In an attempt to ease anger in Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama called Karzai to express his condolences to the victims, and promised to “investigate the event as quickly as possible and to hold fully accountable anyone responsible.” The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan voiced “shock and sadness” at the tragic incident. In addition, the international community has also strongly condemned the killings.

Sixteen innocent lives have been lost. It has not only added fuel to the anti-U.S. fire in Afghanistan but also made the bad U.S.-Afghanistan relations even worse, which has heavily impacted the United States' strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Such words as “craziness” and “slaughter” have widely appeared in U.S. news reports and comments of U.S. Websites, and many people are questioning the Afghanistan war: What is the significance of the war? Some say that the U.S. government tells us that the Afghan people welcome us, but actually it is not the truth at all. Some call on the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan immediately. Some criticize that it was a wrong strategy that Barack Obama sent more troops to Afghanistan in 2009.

The United States is actually preparing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. Currently, it is discussing about the Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Hamid Karzai administration, making pro-arrangements for the “post-withdraw era.” Especially, the agreement still allows the U.S. troops to be stationed in Afghanistan as advisors after the withdrawn of the U.S. combat crew of 2014.