‘Let’s go home’ – US veterans have mixed feelings

Veterans of America’s longest war are finding themselves torn as the United States signs a potentially historic peace accord with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

For many, the US is long overdue in withdrawing its forces after more than 18 years of fighting. Others question the trustworthiness of the Taliban, whose hardline government was overthrown by Us-led forces in 2001, and worry that the Taliban’s reintegration could cause Afghanistan to backslide on such issues as human rights.

‘‘If they sign a peace treaty and Afghanistan goes back to the Taliban or Sharia law, then it’s all been for nothing,’’ said former US Army staff sergeant Will Blackburn of Hinesville, Georgia.

Though doubtful that the Taliban would abide by the peace deal, Blackburn said he was ready for hostilities to end.

He first deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 with an infantry unit of the 10th Mountain Division. A decade later, his son headed overseas for the same fight.

‘‘Anything that would get us out of that country, I will support fully,’’ said Blackburn, 58, who left the army in 2010.

Other Afghanistan veterans said that while the peace deal might not be perfect, it was time to end the war that began weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks.

The toll has been heavy. More than 2300 US service members have been killed and more than 20,600 wounded since the war began in October 2001.

Former army sergeant Michael Carrasquillo was an infantryman in the 173rd Airborne Brigade when his unit was ambushed in Afghanistan in 2005. Shot five times while dragging a wounded comrade to safety, Carrasquillo spent the next two years in hospital and underwent dozens of surgeries.

‘‘Peace in any way, shape or form is a good thing,’’ said Carrasquillo, 36, of Monrovia, Maryland, who leads a support group for wounded veterans through the Wounded Warrior Project. ‘‘We don’t want more guys to die or to get injured.’’

‘‘I know the Taliban, and I never thought they could be trustworthy,’’ said Commander Tom Porter of the US Navy Reserve, who oversaw media operations in Afghanistan during the Us-led troop surge that began in 2010. ‘‘I know they have a different view of time and history than we do.’’

Porter said he was concerned that the Taliban could abide by the accord long enough to see American forces leave, then try to wrest control of Afghanistan under an assumption the US would not be willing to return for another fight.

Former army captain Emily Miller’s job focused on communicating with Afghan women and children on deployments in 2011 and 2012 to assist US special operations forces. She said protecting women’s rights and human rights overall needed to be a priority.

Overall, Miller said, she was thrilled to see a chance for Afghanistan to break from its long history of perpetual war.

‘‘There is this new generation, and I think it’s really time to unlock that hope and optimism of Afghans that are really open to peace.

‘‘What’s the alternative to peace? This endless cycle of violence doesn’t really lead anywhere.’’

There was no hesitation from Chris Collins, a former army reservist, when asked if it was time for a US exit.

‘‘It’s not worth one more American life,’’ said Collins, 38. ‘‘Enough is enough.’’

Collins’ unit, from Missouri, deployed to neighbouring Uzbekistan in 2004 to run a supply warehouse for US forces in Afghanistan. Returning as a civilian contractor five years later, he concluded that little had changed.

‘‘Let’s go home,’’ said Collins, who is now training to be a nurse.

‘‘We can’t stay there forever. They don’t want us there. It’s no different today than it was 18 years ago, essentially.’’ –AP