Tim O'Brien writes the following about war in The Things They Carried:
In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it's safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true.
I have long critiqued our war in Afghanistan and mourned for those unnecessarily killed on both sides. However, as the image below attests, to say that our war in Afghanistan is absolutely damaging, absolutely tragic, or absolutely evil is to speak in absolutes that simply cannot be supported. For as O'Brien says, nothing is ever absolutely true about war.
For here, we have an Afghan girl, holding hands with an American soldier, who would later tell the photographer, U.S. Army Sergeant Scott J. Tant, that she was awed to see a woman doing a man's job:
Of this image, Sergeant Tant explained on Reddit:
Clarification time, from the guy who took the pic....ME! 1. Not a staged photo. Just happened to catch it. 2. She was not wearing her helmet because we were attempting to display to the locals a level of trust. We were working the COIN piece here. 3. She was wearing the head scarf as a show of respect for their culture and beliefs. 4. Those of you who guessed 'admiration', you are center mass!! I spoke with the little girl after the shot, through a translator, and she said it was inspiring to see a woman do a mans job, which is not common in Afghanistan. 5. Soldier is wearing ACU's because this was shot in 2010, we weren't issued the new uniforms then. 6. A year-long running stream cut through this apricot orchard, though this area was destroyed four months later from a flood. We went back after that to help them rebuild. 7. Finally, this shot for me sums up the other side of the war CNN won't show. I mourn my lost comrades to this conflict, and honor their service and memory by showing the world, this moment of tranquility and peace, that is what we fight for.
Indeed. Despite our multifarious views on the war (and mine have been made clear), let us honor our military personnel's service by showing a moment of tranquility and peace which they work to create, despite the circumstances in which they've been placed -- a moment embedded within the many horrors this war has wrought.
A moment of admiration and awe.
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Author's Note:
I understand that some view this as a pro-war post. As I commented to David Mizner:
This is a post that honors those moments of peace that inevitably are embedded within the general horrors of war, moments that we don't get to see.
This is not a pro-war post, it's a pro-humanity post, in my humble view.
Author's Note 1:
Below is the caption of the image on the military site where it's housed:
April 2010, Afghanistan – A young Afghan girl holds hands and looks with awe and admiration at a female American Soldier that visited her village during an engagement between village elders and U.S. forces .