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Ryan Martin Honors American April 9, 2012 **US Army Investigates Last Month's Afghan Massacre Site **  This article talks about the shooting in Afghanistan that killed 17 people. The army went back to investigate the crime scene and found little evidence because the shooting was three weeks ago. The army stayed out of the area for the three weeks because of the tensions with the Afghans. The man that is accused of murdering the 17 Afghan’s last month is being held in an army prison in Kentucky. The soldier’s lawyer says that there is little evidence that proves him guilty. The army is questioning the troops at the base. The soldier was seen leaving the base, then returning to the base, then leaving the base again with a 9-mm pistol and an m-4 rifle with a grenade launcher attachment. He was later accused of killing four men, four women, two boys, and seven girls and setting some of the bodies on fire (Associated Press). American troops have been defending the freedoms for the United States and fighting for other countries to gain their freedoms. Sometimes in these conflicts, civilians will get hurt or killed. In the article //US Army Investigates Last Month's Afghan Massacre Site, // an American war veteran who was serving in Afghanistan had enough of the fighting and became mentally unstable causing him to kill 17 innocent civilians. This may have been caused by his brain failing to withstand the horrible things that he saw in his 3-terms of serving in the Middle East. This is better known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. PTSD can happen at any age and is often caused by traumatic events like war and the horrific things that sometimes happen. This disorder causes nightmares, flashbacks, and anger outbursts. Many soldiers coming back from the war have this disorder, and soldiers are being screened for this when they come back. Treatment for PTSD is having the soldiers talk about the events and expressing how they feel about what they experienced. Often people with this disorder turn to alcohol and are depressed. However, research is helping find ways to prevent PTSD and how to stop it once someone has it (Post-traumatic stress disorder).  Civilian casualties are sometimes a part of war. In this incident, the man killed civilians who were not involved with or around any battle that was taking place. In World War II, civilian casualties were extremely high. This was a result from the firebombing of major cities that were full of civilians. In World War II, there were approximately 37,585,300 to 55,207,000 civilian deaths from military and crimes on humanity (World War II casualties). This number has gone down in the recent wars because the United States has gone to extreme measures to prevent civilian casualties. There were about 114,000 civilian casualties in the Iraq War. That is an enormous decrease from World War II because of the precautions to protect the civilians. The numbers of civilian casualties through the last years of the war were about a third of the first year of war in Iraq (Casualties of the Iraq War).  American military bases are all around the world. There are five military bases in Afghanistan that allow the troops to have quick access to major cities and regions around the country. In this case, the bases being close to the cities backfired on the military. Because the soldier was close to the town, he simply walked to it and was able to start killing people. The military has regulated how many troops go into the towns when not on missions. They are also regulating who goes into the towns and how long they are allowed to be there. This helps keep track of troops and allows the military to make sure none of the troops have been killed or captured by terrorists (Military Bases in Afghanistan). This article is relevant to the war and conflicts topic because it is a conflict that is in a war zone. The wars in the Middle East have been around for most of the upcoming generation’s life. Some babies were born into war times, and some were young when the wars started. The wars have been major parts of schools and have affected most Americans’ lives. However, the wars have been for necessary reasons and have found ways to make Iraq a free country. Iraq now holds elections as a result of the war, and the US has trained their troops how to fight the terrorist. The US is no longer needed in Iraq. This is proof that since 9-11 America has made large changes in the Middle East for the better. Another country the US military is helping become a free country is Afghanistan. This event has changed and might defeat the plans in Afghanistan. Almost ten years of fighting and countless deaths would have been wasted. The Americans have been helping the families of the victims cope with the killings and are going to prosecute the man responsible for the killings. Americans will always be involved in wars around the world. Since the Cold War, America has been trying to spread democracy and is succeeding in some places. America is always trying to make places better to live and hopefully will achieve this goal some day for all people in this world. Until then, we as Americans will continue to try to make the world a better place to live. **Questions ** How can the US turn this event around to help fight for freedom of Afghanistan? How can the US stop any events like this from going on again? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">What should the consequences be for the man responsible for these killings? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">How can the US leave Afghanistan like we did with Iraq as an independent country? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">How can the US insure that Afghanistan will not let the terrorists back in power after we leave their country?
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Associated Press. "US Army Investigates Last Month's Afghan Massacre Site | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. , 5 Apr. 2012. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/05/us-army-investigates-last-months-afghan-massacre-site/>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Casualties of the Iraq War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Military Bases in Afghanistan - US Military Bases." //US Military Bases - Air Force Bases, Army Bases, Navy Bases//. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://militarybases.com/overseas/afghanistan/>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"Post-traumatic stress disorder - PubMed Health." //National Center for Biotechnology Information//.., 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">"World War II casualties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties>.