Here is a face of the war in Afghanistan. Najibullah, an air raid victim from the Malwand district of Kandahar, points to where three bombs shattered his home during a recent US airstrike. His message to President Obama: Withdraw US forces from Afghanistan at once. "They're going to leave anyway," Najibullah says. "It's better for them to leave Afghanistan on their own terms now rather than later. To leave our country voluntarily. We're all deformed, people are missing fingers. Look at my finger." He points to a missing index finger on his right hand. "Some people are missing eyes, some people are missing legs. Some are missing their arms. They destroyed the whole nation."
This exclusive footage, which Brave New Foundation released today as part of the soon-to-be-released fourth segment of Rethink Afghanistan, stands as an unflinching testament to the rampant devastation wrought by recent US airstrikes in Afghanistan. It should be seen by everyone who attempts to write off the civilian casualties of this war with the dehumanizing phrase "collateral damage." It should be seen by everyone in Congress considering whether to escalate this quagmire with $96.7 billion in supplemental wartime spending. And it should be seen by Gen. Stanley McChrystal as he submits his review of US strategy in Afghanistan--the fifth review this year--and tries to pretend the war in Afghanistan is not a quagmire that's destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians like Najibullah.
