五角大楼官员周六发现第三名特种部队士兵在一周多的时间内死于美国最长的战争，同一天，在阿富汗北部城市昆都士爆发激烈战斗，正在进行谈判以结束911后战争耗资数十亿美元，数以千计的家庭永久破碎。
31 岁的爱达荷州爱达荷州的美国陆军中士头等人达斯汀·B·阿尔德于周四在阿富汗南部与坎大哈接壤的扎布尔的战斗行动中受伤。
美国陆军特种作战司令部发布了一份简短的声明，宣布阿尔德的死亡，但没有提供关于绿色贝雷帽如何受伤或其任务情况的任何进一步细节。一名不愿透露姓名的新闻周刊采访的国防部消息人士称，阿尔德是一支直升机突击部队的一部分，他们称之为“塔利班国家”。
Ard是不到两周内在阿富汗死亡的第三位特种部队士兵。船长警长路易斯·德莱昂F. -菲格罗亚，31，和Jose J.冈萨雷斯，35岁，在被打死的交火，同时用在法里亚布省的北部阿富汗特种作战士兵联合行动。
这是Ard第三次部署到阿富汗，这个国家长期受到战争和政治动荡的困扰。阿富汗历史上暴力事件的最新篇章始于2001年9月11日恐怖袭击事件后美国领导的入侵。随着特朗普政府恢复与阿富汗的和平谈判，该国长达18年的僵局间歇性地显示出进步的迹象。根据阿富汗重建特别监察长的说法，塔利班是一个激进的伊斯兰组织，控制着占阿富汗人口约11％的领土。
唐纳德特朗普总统星期四宣布，他的政府计划在与塔利班达成预期协议之后，至少暂时在阿富汗保留8,600名士兵。目前尚不清楚塔利班是否同意美国的提议。
拟议的部队兵力数据将使大约5,400名美军从该地区撤出，引起一些国会议员的担忧，他们担心阿富汗可能会成为另一场9月11日式袭击的集结地。随着被称为伊斯兰国家呼罗珊的阿富汗伊斯兰国在该地区获得立足点，他们的担忧有所增加。
据路透社报道，塔利班星期六在昆都士市发生炸弹爆炸事件，造成至少10人丧生。在阿富汗北部城市几个地区的武装分子和安全部队之间发生战斗的额外报道之后，袭击事件发生了。
该国脆弱的政治平衡正在成为塔利班代表和美国代表团在卡塔尔多哈制定更大的和平框架的背景。最终协议将使美国在塔利班和阿富汗安全部队之间撤军和停火的计划正式化。预计第二批和平进程将直接由塔利班和阿富汗官员谈判。
“我认为现在还为时过早。我现在没有使用'撤回'这个词，”美国海军陆战队将军约瑟夫邓福德说，他是五角大楼周三新闻发布会期间联合参谋长的主席。“我正在使用 - 我们将确保阿富汗不是一个避难所，我们将努力为阿富汗带来和平与稳定。”
随着阿富汗战争继续受到美国公众的近乎记录的怀疑，冲突对美国军人及其家属造成的伤害更加敏锐地感受到每一名士兵的死亡。近年来，美国军队中没有其他组织比在特种部队社区工作的人更多地遭受战斗损失。
在周五发布在Facebook上的一份声明中，堕落的绿色贝雷帽的父亲布鲁斯·阿尔德（Bruce Ard）在儿子去世之际反映。
“我的心脏有一个很大的洞，我几乎无法忍受。他是我所知道的最好的年轻人，”布鲁斯阿德写道。“不是因为他是我的儿子，而是因为他是一个人。一个伟大的儿子，兄弟，父亲和丈夫。他爱他的国家，是我们应该成为的那种人。儿子，我爱你，知道我们会再次见面。我每天都会想念你，没有你。爱爸爸。“
根据美国陆军特种作战司令部的声明，阿尔德在本月初晋升为目前的军衔，并追授铜奖星勋章和紫心勋章。
“在我们的第一特种部队家族中感受到了第一级Ard的损失，”美国陆军上校第一特种部队（空降兵）指挥官Owen G. Ray在一份新闻稿中说。“我们现在的首要任务是照顾他的家人和士兵，并在这个令人难以置信的需要时刻提供最好的照顾。”
Ard留下一个年幼的女儿和一个怀孕的妻子。
PENTAGON IDENTIFIES US SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN, THIRD IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS
Pentagon officials on Saturday identified the third Special Forces soldier in over a week to die in America's longest running-war, the same day heavy fighting broke out in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz amid ongoing negotiations to close out the post-9/11 war that has cost billions of dollars and left thousands of families permanently shattered.
U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Dustin B. Ard, 31, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, died Thursday from wounds he sustained during combat operations in Zabul, a southern Afghan province bordering Kandahar.
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command issued a brief statement announcing Ard's death which did not provide any further detail on how the Green Beret was wounded or the circumstances of his mission. A Department of Defense source, who spoke to Newsweek on condition of anonymity, said Ard was part of a helicopter assault force conducting operations in what they described as "Taliban country."
Ard is the third Special Forces soldier to die in Afghanistan in less than two weeks. Master Sergeants Luis F. Deleon-Figueroa, 31, and Jose J. Gonzalez, 35, were killed in a firefight while on a joint operation with Afghan special operation soldiers in the northern province of Faryab.
This was Ard's third deployment to Afghanistan, a country long plagued by war and political turmoil. The latest chapter of violence in Afghan history began with the U.S.-led invasion after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The 18-year-long stalemate in the country has shown signs of progress intermittently as the Trump administration resumed peace talks with the Taliban, a militant Islamist group that controls territory containing about 11 percent of Afghanistan's population, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that his administration plans to keep 8,600 troops in Afghanistan, at least temporarily, following a prospective deal with the Taliban. It is unclear if the Taliban would agree to the U.S. proposal.
The proposed troop strength figure would see the withdrawal of roughly 5,400 U.S. forces from the region, prompting concerns among some congressional members who fear Afghanistan could turn into a staging ground for another September 11-style attack. Their concerns have grown as the Islamic State in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State Khorasan, has gained a foothold in the region.
The Taliban were responsible for a bomb blast in the city of Kunduz Saturday that killed at least 10 people, Reuters reported. The attack came after additional reports of fighting between militants and security forces in several parts of the northern Afghan city.
The country's tenuous political equilibrium is serving as a backdrop to a larger framework for peace being developed by Taliban representatives and a U.S. delegation in Doha, Qatar. A final agreement would formalize plans for a U.S. troop withdrawal and cease-fire between the Taliban and Afghan security forces. A second installment of the peace process is expected to be negotiated between the Taliban and Afghan officials directly.
"I think it's premature. I'm not using the 'withdraw' word right now," said U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff during a Pentagon press briefing on Wednesday. "I'm using—we're going to make sure that Afghanistan is not a sanctuary, and we're going to try to have an effort to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan."
As the war in Afghanistan continues to drag on with near-record skepticism from the U.S. public, the conflict's toll on U.S. servicemembers and their families is felt more keenly with the death of each additional soldier. In recent years, no other group in the U.S. military has experienced more combat losses than those working in the Special Forces community.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Friday, Bruce Ard, the father of the fallen Green Beret, reflected on the occasion of his son's death.
"My heart has a hole so big I can hardly stand it. He was the finest young man I have ever known," Bruce Ard wrote. "Not because he was my son but because [of] the person he is. A great son, brother, father, and husband. He loved his country and was the kind of person we should all be. Son, I Love you and know we will see each other again. I will miss you every day I live without you. Love Dad."
Ard was promoted to his current rank at the beginning of the month and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart, according to the statement from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
"Sgt. 1st Class Ard's loss is felt across our 1st Special Forces Group Family," U.S. Army Colonel Owen G. Ray, commander of 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), said in a press release. "Our priority now is to take care of his family and our Soldiers and provide the best possible care that we can during this incredible time of need."
Ard leaves behind a young daughter and a pregnant wife.
