Sir, – Your report on the killing by a US drone strike of 30 Afghan workers and the injuring of many others while they were resting after a day’s hard work is truly heart-wrenching (World News, September 19th).
The recently published UNHR (Office of the High Commissioner, Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict) report calculates that almost 4,000 Afghan civilians were either killed or wounded so far this year, and that almost 5,000 were either killed or wounded per year for each of the previous four years. That makes a total of approximately 24,000 dead civilians over the last five years.
This puts some serious perspective on President Donald Trump’s cancellation of peace talks with the Taliban following the killing of one US soldier and 11 others (World News, September 8th).
We know that all wars eventually end. Irish citizens must wonder when will America’s 18-year war – its longest yet – end? And we must ask the Irish Government when will it stop supporting this war by facilitating the US military at Shannon Airport? Or are we to witness thousands more civilians being needlessly killed and wounded in a senseless war in Afghanistan for many years to come?– Yours, etc,
JIM ROCHE,
Irish Anti-War
Movement,
PO Box 9260,
Dublin 1.