Over 1000 Dead--

For those who know or have lost a loved one serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, this week’s milestone of the 1,000th US death in Operation Enduring Freedom struck deep.

As we proceed with our current military offensive in Helmand Province-the very one touted by McChrystal, our President, Pentagon officials and the media as the first step toward “victory” in Afghanistan- 1,000 troops and thousands of Afghan civilians have died in Operation Enduring Freedom, including 39 civilians just last weekend from another disastrous NATO airstrike. Won't you join us in writing to NATO Command and General Stanley McChrystal to tell them that this is an unacceptable toll?

Use our tool below to let General McChrystal know that we cannot continue to sacrifice military servicemembers or terrorize and dehumanize the Afghan people!
*Note a formal letter salutation will be automatically added to your email*

THANK YOU TO ALL THE SUPPORTERS WHO HAVE ALREADY SIGNED THIS LETTER!

Subject:

Your Letter:

1,000 troops and the growing tally of civilian deaths in Operation Enduring Freedom is an unacceptable toll. The current offensive has been touted by General McChrystal, our President, Pentagon officials and the media as the first step toward “victory” is supposed to eliminate the Taliban and their influence—that was why 30,000 more troops were sent to Afghanistan. However, General McChrystal’s strategy doesn’t seem to take into account that Taliban recruits do not just materialize out of the ether.  Rather, in an environment of violence, they are a self-renewing resource, invigorated and made more plentiful by military aggression.  They are driven to the ranks of fundamentalism by poverty, struggle and the deaths of loved ones, family members and the people in their community.  When a NATO airstrike rips through a family compound, each of these dead human beings has a family and a community--people who cared for them who, in a world where they have literally nothing to lose, are easy marks for Taliban masterminds.

"Going after the Taliban" is a self-defeating mission.  Eliminating the circumstances that swell their ranks—poverty, lack of education and infrastructure, the terrible condition of women’s rights—does not require violence, war and Assault Breacher Vehicles (at a price tag of $3.75 million each.)  If US troops and Afghan civilians must die in order to capture or kill one Taliban commander, it's obvious that our strategy serves only to undermine our goals in the most brutal way possible and make us less safe.

Over 1000 Dead--

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