Why is US troop morale at a 5-year low?

According to a survey released by the military several weeks ago, morale among US troops in Afghanistan has reached the lowest point in five years of fighting.

Several reasons have been proffered by the mainstream media to explain this phenomenon - except for the most obvious reason:

The Obama administration - desperately seeking an exit strategy in Afghanistan before the 2012 Presidential election - has been trying to strike a deal with Taliban extremists - even going so far as to rescind sanctions regulations against the Taliban. Hence, is it any wonder that troop morale is at a 5-year low?

Lacking both a sense of mission and purpose, US troops can't figure out why they are sacrificing their lives on the battlefield?

"Why are we putting our lives on the line," they ask themselves, "if the end game in Afghanistan is a Taliban-run government or a government largely influenced by the Taliban?"

And that is likely the reason why the President's job approval ratings among US Military personnel - according to a recent Gallup poll - is significantly lower than among the general population.

If troop morale, under the current administration, would be on the rise, I would question the mental state of mind of our military personnel. The fact that troop morale is actually plummeting suggests that the mental state of mind of our soldiers is indeed healthy and robust.