WikiLeaks Release Shows Need to Rethink the Afghanistan Fiasco

The tragedy that is Afghanistan continues. An occupation of a country that is costing thousands of American and afghan lives. Billions of dollars wasted in a horrific misuse of tax dollars and resources. And a war that will never make us safer; in fact the opposite. Each day that the war continues the occupation winds up recruiting more resistance.

When I got off the plane in Kabul for a series of on the ground interviews, the reality of the 3rd poorest country in the world hit hard. The poverty is overwhelming and it stands in stark contrast to the billions being spent on military efforts. The problems are immense, economic, health-related, jobs-related, tribal. They are problems that are only intensified by a misguided war.

The WikiLeaks release of the "War Logs" has called attention to the facts on the ground. And the facts are deeply troubling. The corruption, the abuse of women,the lack of a partners. "The people of Afghanistan keep losing their trust in the government because of the high amount of corrupted government officials," the report quoted them as saying. "The general view of the Afghans is that the current government is worse than the Taliban."

We at Brave New Foundation have worked relentlessly for over a year to explain the facts about Afghanistan, to call attention to the costs and to urge a rethink of the policy.

The WikiLeaks releases have provided a moment that we all must use to let the elected officials know that we will not be silent. We will raise our voices, our phone calls, our emails to object in the strongest terms to the continuation of this war. Join us by signing our petition to politicians to send them a strong message that, if they want our support in November, it's time to act to bring this war to a close.