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Deaths make 2008 deadliest for US in Afghanistan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-12 09:47 Last year 111 troops died, including one killed by a sniper while meeting with Pakistani officers in Pakistan. That mark was surpassed Thursday -- with more than three months left in the year -- reflecting both the increased number of American troops deployed to Afghanistan as well as the insurgency's increasing potency. Top US generals, European leaders and analysts say the blame lies to the east, in militant sanctuaries in neighboring Pakistan. As long as those areas remain havens where fighters arm, train, recruit and plot increasingly sophisticated ambushes, the Afghan war will continue to sour. "What you have is a broad expansion on the front, and because of this you have expansion in areas of the Taliban. Even in areas where there is no substantial fighting, the presence of insurgents has increased," said Anthony Cordesman, a security expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "You have less cooperation from Pakistan, and there's political disarray," which creates a situation where there is little security and stability, Cordesman said. "You also have a weak government that is incapable of maintaining a significant presence in high threat areas." Since the 2001 invasion, a total of 519 US troops have died in the Afghan war, including those killed in border areas of Pakistan and in Uzbekistan, which was a staging area in 2001. An additional 65 more have died outside the Afghan region in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the Defense Department. The Pentagon says 117 US service members died last year in Operation Enduring Freedom, but that includes six deaths outside the Afghan region: two in the Philippines, two in Ethiopia, one in Somalia and one in the Gulf. The NATO-led force in Afghanistan said one soldier was killed Thursday in the east when insurgents attacked a compound. The separate US-led coalition said a second service member died while conducting combat operations. No other details were released, but a Western military official told The Associated Press that both troops were American. Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense, noted the militants aren't just targeting US forces. He said Afghan soldiers and police have also suffered a record number of casualties over the past year. Figures weren't immediately available. President Bush announced this week that he was sending an Army brigade and a Marine battalion to Afghanistan in November to replace two that are scheduled to leave. Some 33,000 US troops are now stationed in the country, the highest level since 2001. Overall, more than 65,000 troops from 40 nations are deployed in Afghanistan. US commanders in Afghanistan say they need another 10,000 troops -- even more than the deployment plan Bush announced. The commanders also urge more nonmilitary aid and say the Afghan government must perform better. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee this week that, "I'm not convinced we're winning in Afghanistan. I'm convinced we can." |
