Today's random meeting involved a soldier who has 450 stitches from a suicide bomber. He was stationed near the Pakistan border, in an area I know well. The one Afghan they completely trusted was a soldier who had just the day before taken out two enemy fighters. The very next day he wore a suicide belt and blew up several Americans at an outpost. My soldier--we'll call him Miracle Man--was standing closest to him. Luckily for him he went airborne when the Afghan blew himself up. That saved him, though he later died twice on the operating table. His friends were not so fortunate. They died in the spot where they stood, smoking cigarettes. One was Miracle's best friend.
Many operations later, Miracle survived. His legs were blasted to bits and have been rebuilt. His face and skull were shattered. He is now legally blind. He's lost hearing completely in one ear and struggles to hear with the other.
Our hero is a true miracle who told me this morning...the war in Afghanistan needs to end. Under the current rules of engagement there is no way they can fight to win.
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You soldiers are all heroes to me; all these trials you go through must be horrific, but you do it for your country and for all of us...I love you all for it.
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