A CH-47 Chinook helicopter (pictured above) crashed in the Maidan Wardak province early Saturday morning, August 6th. The crash has become the single deadliest incident in the war’s 10-year history. The majority of those killed were part of the Navy SEALs Team 6, also known as the team that killed Osama Bin Laden. Unfortunately, the details of the incident are sparse. The military is still investigating and says it may take several weeks before they ascertain concrete answers as to what happened. The Taliban have immediately taken credit for the crash, and as more evidence comes in, the more likely it is looking that they may be correct.
Via NewYorkTimes:
“A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that insurgents had been gathering at the compound, adding that eight of them had been killed in the fighting.”
This leads us to the real question behind this tragic story. Should we still be there?
“We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied.” President Obama said in a statement.
But is rebuilding the nation of Afghanistan really securing our country? And let’s face it, we’re doing it alone.
Reasonable people can understand the need to eliminate Al Qaeda training camps provided by the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was necessary to forcefully remove them from power. But the fact remains, it was Al Qaeda who attacked us, not the Taliban. The Taliban simply do not have the financial or political resources necessary to launch a 9/11-style attack on our soil. Only a global terrorist network can do that. This is a group of primitive people, whose literacy rate is below 10%. If they want to rebuild their terrorist training facilities and open their country up to Al Qaeda again, our spy satellites and weapons-enabled drones can destroy their camps and facilities without risking a single American life. So if 10 years, hundreds of American lives, and billions in taxpayer dollars aren’t enough to end this war, what will be?
Our prayers are with the families of the heroes who died in this tragedy.