Austin, Texas (CNN) -- The past month has been the worst for the United States in Afghanistan since the war began after the attacks of September 11, 2001. There have been more difficult periods of combat against the Taliban, al Qaeda and other insurgents. There have been more fragmented and confused moments in allied strategy. There has, however, never been a time when American soldiers acted with such obvious and offensive disrespect for Afghan citizens. The past month has witnessed a string of incidents, including the alleged killing of 16 civilians by a U.S. soldier and the burning of Qurans, the holiest touchstone of the Islamic faith, at a NATO air base. The United States has crossed a self-defeating threshold in Afghanistan where our soldiers are seen as attacking the very people and culture they are deployed to protect. We are destroying villages in order to save them.
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A killing spree in Afghanistan follows Quran-burning incident
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Jeremi Suri says the U.S. has had its worst month in the long Afghan war
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He says it's reminiscent of Vietnam War, when soldiers turned against population
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Suri: U.S. leaders are failing to set and pursue achievable objectives
Young @placeholder soldiers are under enormous pressure, in hostile circumstances, and they are increasingly isolated from support networks within the United States.