Soldiers still dying in Afghanistan
by David Repp, Reporter

    It is amazing how fast we seem to stop caring about our soldiers.
    If they aren't doing something new and exciting, nobody cares.
    Everyone knows about U.S. and British troops serving in Iraq, but it seems everyone has forgotten about the 11,500 soldiers still fighting in Afghanistan.
    In an informal survey, most people thought the war in Afghanistan was over. They are wrong.
    The war in Afghanistan is still going on today, and U.S. service members are still dying. Seven died in March alone.
    Several authorities in Afghanistan have recently expressed concern that the Taliban is regrouping. Yet, this information is not shown on the news.
    Do news agencies not care about the soldiers in Afghanistan? Surely not. However, they do not seem to care about soldiers in Iraq either.
    The media appear to care more about what sells. News agencies want big explosions, massive attacks and POW stories.
    Soldiers combing through mountains every day trying to stop the men who supported the 9-11 attackers do not make for strong, eye- or ear-catching news reports.
    The networks and big papers want the news events that will sell more papers or bring in more viewers or listeners.
    We rely on the media to let us know what is going on, and when U.S. soldiers are in harm's way. When we do not know, we cannot support them.
    Several local grocery stores sponsor bulletin boards where customers can put up pictures of loved ones stationed in Iraq.
    What about those in Afghanistan? People are sending massive amounts of support packages to Iraq. That effort is great, but U.S. citizens should not forget about those serving, fighting and dying in Afghanistan.
    The news media need to do a better job of telling U.S. citizens everything, even when the news is not sensational.
    We deserve to know, and even more so, the soldiers deserve to be known.