Release of video in January that show US Marines urinating on dead bodies of Taliban, burning of holy Qur'an at Bagram Airbase in February and massacre of 16 civilians by an American Sergeant in Kandahar on Sunday have put the decade-long efforts and sacrifices in blood and treasure of the international community in Afghanistan at great stake. Training of Afghan security forces, a vital process at this juncture, has been stopped while foreign advisers have also remained absent from their vital positions in Afghan ministries and other key organizations.
After Sunday's incident, the Taliban immediately announced that they will take revenge. A Taliban statement released online on Monday denounced the killings, saying they were the latest in a series of humiliations against the Afghan people and denying that any Taliban fighters had been in the area. Need to mention that after the incident of Qur'an burning, five Americans were killed.
The Taliban called their killing as revenge of the Qur'an burning. At the same time, the insurgents would try to utilize such incidents to intensify their propaganda against western countries and the Afghan government. They would try to gain more public support.
Incidents where American soldiers act irresponsibly come at times when the negotiation between Afghanistan and the US over the strategic partnership has halted and the relation between the two has reached its lowest point. The incidents have put long-term US presence in Afghanistan in doubts.
As we will move ahead, the situation in Afghanistan will further deteriorate putting the little gain Afghans have had in the last ten years at great risk. The complete US troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 will leave behind a weak and feeble government and it is hard for Afghanistan national army and police to tackle defense responsibilities on their own. So, Afghanistan is moving towards its 90s at a very fast pace.
After the killings by American soldier, the Western troops in Afghanistan should expect intensified attacks from Taliban. And if such happenings are not prevented, they would have start packing for going back to their homes.