Afghan Massacre Sheds Light on 'Culture of Aggression' in US Army

March 16, 2012 from Democracy Now!

We speak with journalist Neil Shea, who has reported on Afghanistan and Iraq since 2006 for the Stars and Stripes and other publications. Shea discusses his experiences witnessing disturbing behavior during his travels with US troops in Afghanistan and offers insight into understanding the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians. "When we cycle our soldiers and Marines through wars that don't really have a clear purpose over years and years, we expect light-switch control over their aggression," Shea says. "We expect to be able to turn them into killers and then turn them back into winners of hearts and minds. When you do that to a man or a woman over many years, that light-switch control begins to fray."

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Afghanistan War

สงครามอัฟกานิสถาน เริ่มขึ้นเมื่อวันที่ 7 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2544 เมื่อกองทัพสหรัฐอเมริกา สหราชอาณาจักร ออสเตรเลียเครือจักรภพ และพันธมิตรฝ่ายเหนือเริ่มปฏิบัติการเสรีภาพยั่งยืน แรงขับสำคัญของการรุกรานมาจากวินาศกรรม 11 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2544 ต่อสหรัฐอเมริกา โดยมีเป้าหมายแถลงไว้ว่า เพื่อทำลาย... Explore this topic

US Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services. The modern army has its roots in the C... Explore this topic

Panjwai shooting spree

The Panjwaye shooting spree occurred in the early morning of Sunday, 11 March 2012, when 16 civilians were killed and five wounded in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Some corpses were partially burned. The dead included 11 members from one family. A United States Army sergeant... Explore this topic

Afghanistan

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked sovereign state forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and to some extent Western Asia. It has a population of around 30 million inhabiting an area of approximately 647,500 km², making it the 42nd ... Explore this topic

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder with characteristic symptoms that can develop after the direct experience of an extremely traumatic stressor such as the threat of a violent death or serious injury. To fit the criteria of PTSD, the individual must rea... Explore this topic

Violence

Violence is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against a person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation. This definitio... Explore this topic

US Armed Forces

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of America. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The U.S. has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military. The President of the United States is the mili... Explore this topic

Leon Panetta

Leon Edward Panetta is an American politician, lawyer and professor. He served in the Barack Obama administration as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to 2011 and as Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013. An Italian-American Democrat, Panetta was a member ... Explore this topic

Panjwai district

Panjwayi is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It is known as the birthplace of the Taliban. It is located about 35 kilometres west of Kandahar city. The district borders Helmand Province to the southwest, Maywand District to the west, Zharay District to the north, ... Explore this topic

Hamid Karzai

Hamid Karzai GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 22 December 2001. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001. During the December 2001 International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany, Karza... Explore this topic

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Afghanistan War

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Panjwai shooting spree

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