$5 For a Life

On Sunday in Kandahar, Afghanistan, a 15-year old boy was hanged from a tree by Taliban militants for having U.S. dollars in his pocket. Taliban used the boy as an example to warn other villagers that they would face the same punishment if they had U.S. dollars in their posession. They stuffed 5 $1 bills into the mouth of the limp boy hanging from the tree and left him for the village to see. Hearing this story made me physically sick to my stomach. An innocent boy lost his life because of the reputation that has been attached to America. They hate our country so much that they are willing to sacrifice one of their own just to send a message to their village. Their own village; not a large population. I mean, we all know that things happen in Afghanistan that don't happen in many other places and killing is not something they see as a crime, but its really sad that even our money has cost people their lives.