Daily Times

Sir: It seems that the United States of America is becoming unsafe like the rest of the world. After a series of five terrorist attacks in the month of August 2012, it appears that people are not very safe in the US. War veterans who fought in Afghanistan are being seen with suspicion as many people are claiming that they are behind these acts. It is pertinent to mention here that there is record desertion in the US armed forces, especially in the military. According to media reports, quoting Pentagon sources, “Between 1968 and 1971, about five percent of enlisted personnel deserted but in the single year of 2001, the US’s Army, Navy and Air Force reported 7,978 desertions.” The actual figures are, however, much higher. In the year 2011, the desertion ratio touched 43 percent, which is being denied as 32 percent.

According to Article 85 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the maximum penalty for desertion is five years in jail but those who are deserting are being hunted as wild foxes, excluded from any benefits. The deserters are complaining that no American is ready to volunteer for Afghanistan and most of them have already completed their third tour hence there was no option but to desert. Some reports say that those foreigners killed in the US drone attacks in the recent past in Pakistan were not mujahideen but deserters from the US and allied forces who ran away from the battlefield. US drones have purposely targeted them as they were in knowledge of war crimes and human rights violations.
The US war veterans and deserters are seeking asylum in different countries including Canada and Germany but foreign governments have rejected applications in hundreds and thousands. The deserters need humane treatment and there is no law that allows war veterans to be refused employment or killed without a trial. The only crime these war veterans have committed is that they resisted state-sponsored terrorism, killing over 1.5 million people in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Irrespective of the fact whether war veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq are behind the series of attacks or not, Washington needs to concentrate on home grown terrorism and must seek international help to eradicate terrorism from its roots. The US is a place that has an international community and the irresponsible claim by some analysts that these attacks were carried out by insane and schizophrenic lone wolves cannot diminish the gravity of the situation.
AFSHAIN AFZAL
Via e-mail