Detroit News publishes column by English Professor M.L. Liebler about his visit to Afghanistan

M.L. Liebler, poet laureate, author, and a professor in the departments of English, American Studies and Labor Studies at Wayne State University, penned a commentary about his recent visit to Afghanistan at the invitation by the U.S. State Department.

He has done cultural and educational work for the State Department several times before, in Israel during wartime, the West Bank and post-Soviet Russia. In his piece, he explores why we are in Afghanistan and provides a retrospective look of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. "Like Norman Mailer, I often asked, "Why are we in Vietnam?"

Just as many people in America now, in the 21st Century, keep asking, "why are we in Afghanistan," Liebler wrote. Excerpts are included from his post-Vietnam era poem "Declaration Day," and a photo of Liebler with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.