Ten years of war will have left indelible scars on the hundreds of thousands of people who have been directly affected by the acts of warfare.

Certainly, the scarring and the impact of war are deeper for those who have been killed, maimed, deformed and wounded.

Certainly the scarring and devastation of war are real for the families involved, too. The recent revelation of an American soldier’s alleged atrocities in Afghanistan is a result of the atrocities inflicted on the American military, their families and others by the elected “public servants” who never feel the reality, the stress, the lasting hardship of combat.

This article from the Daily Beast speaks to the tragic backblast of continuous war:

“Last week, as American officials scrambled to repair diplomatic relations with Afghanistan following the horrific mass murder of 16 Afghan citizens by a U.S. soldier, the search for answers as to why the massacre occurred had already begun.

“‘He just snapped,’ a high-ranking official told The New York Times on Thursday. ‘When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol, and domestic issues.’

“It feels like an insufficient explanation for such a shockingly senseless act. The soldier, a father of two young children, allegedly targeted women and children in his rampage and, after killing them, set some of their bodies on fire. But for some—including the family of the suspect—the explanation wasn’t just inadequate, it was unfair. ‘I know for a fact that there is no issue with his marriage,’ the suspect’s attorney, John Henry Browne, told reporters.ְ ‘It’s a very strong marriage, and frankly we’re all taking offense at that.’”

Click here to read the Daily Beast article in full.