American Troops 'Killed Afghan Civilians for Sport and Collected Fingers as Trophies'

By Chris McGreal, The Guardian

Eleven years ago, news came out that we’re well reminded of these days. American soldiers were charged with horrific crimes against civilians in Afghanistan:

“Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for sport in separate attacks this year. Seven others are accused of covering up the killings and assaulting a recruit who exposed the murders when he reported other abuses, including members of the unit smoking hashish stolen from civilians.”

The Orientalist trope of Afghanistan being ‘the graveyard of empires‘ gets it wrong. Occupation leads to resistance not because Afghans are special, but because they are not special. Fighting empire is NORMAL, and it does not matter which one.