Casualty of War

America is not a colonial power, and its occupation of Afghanistan is not an outwardly colonial exercise, but an old warning from Aimé Césaire's may still carry wisdom.

History's road is littered with the wreckage of empires that tried to rule the world even as they were collapsing at home. We are failing the fundamental duty to our nation created these 221 years ago.

To explain the difference between the picture of America in 1776 and the picture we see today would require political courage as well as imagination. We hardly have a leader or leaders in possession of such qualities.

Barring an open and democratic dialogue about what our military is for in today's world we'll continue to have frustrated Generals and we'll risk more lives.