1,080 More Americans Could Die on Obama's Watch in Afghanistan

Highest-Ever Monthly Total of 49 Americans Killed in Afghanistan in August: American Death Rate Under Obama Could Exceed 1,000 by 2011

August was the cruelest month for American forces in Afghanistan, with at least 49 killed, not including possible last-minute reports. The August numbers exceeded the previous high of 43 in July, as a result of the new escalation of fighting approved by President Obama.

The President is expected to approve another troop increase shortly, which will inevitably increase American casualty rates in the 18-24 months of "hard fighting" forecast by the Pentagon.

At a rate of 45 American deaths per month, the toll on Obama's watch would be 1,080 additional American deaths through 2011, as the President heads into a re-election.

The total number of American deaths in Afghanistan since the beginning of the war is approximately 800. The number officially listed as wounded in action is 3,722, with 2,314 never redeployed to the war zone. www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf

The numbers are understated by, for example, excluding hundreds of private contractors, many of them American citizens, killed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Others killed during special operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan may not be included either.

Deaths among US-dominated Coalition forces overall now total 1,293, including 210 from the UK and 126 from Canada.

The real number of Afghanistan civilian casualties is obscured in the fog of war, but has risen to a record high as the US has escalated its forces this year, with the UN Aid Mission figures growing from 684 in the first six months of 2007, to 818 in the first six months of 2008, to 1,013 in January-June this year. The July UNAM bulletin's appendix noted that "there is a significant possibility that UNAMA is under-reporting civilian casualties." [p. 16] Because the Pentagon frequently casts doubt on whether Afghan victims are truly civilian, the frequent result is, as UNAM notes, "if the non-combatant status of one or more victims remains under significant doubt, such deaths are not included in the overall number of civilian casualties."

Comments

[JohnHKennedy]

Obama should not compound the loss of the over 34,000 US Soldiers killed or maimed for oil in the Iraq War by trying to win the already lost Afghan War.

The Afghan War was lost the minute that Bush and Cheney started to divert troops from Afghanistan to the illegal invasion of Iraq, a country which had nothing to do with 9-11. Then they tortured captives to get fake intel to justify the WMD Lies.

KEEP ASKING ALL POLITICIANS AT ALL PUBLIC EVENTS

"WHY DO YOU SUPPORT TORTURE?"
If they aren't actively calling for enforcement of our Federal Torture Laws,
They DO Support Torture.

SIGN THE PETITIONS
Demanding
both a Commission of Inquiry
and prosecution for all those leaders
in Bush's Administration that
Conspired to Torture at ANGRYVOTERS.ORG

http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG

Only Prosecution Stops Torture!

Only Prosecution Stops Abuse of Power and
of Our Constitution and Rule Of Law

Only Prosecution Stops Abuse of Power and
of Our Constitution and Rule Of Law
and gives Voters their power back.
The only alternative is un-electing them.
.

[Pema]

i dont beleive in violence. but i dont think haveing people who are unfamilair with facts of the situation trying to sway public opinion for policy change either. if you want to do something for the country tom, give up your almost dollar for dollar retirment from the congress. serve once take forever. thats part of the problem imo.

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

CSPAN had a panel of talking heads discussing the Afghan election last weekend. They ended up saying the corrupt election process had the opposite intended effect ... instead of increasing the legitimacy of the government, it verified the illegitimacy of the government. They said this is critical because it is tied to the perception the foreign troops are simply an occupying force. They also said we are fighting a lost cause if the foreign troops are seen as an occupying force.

To cap it off it was clear, the Afghan government vote is less legitimate than their 2004 vote. Obviously, the panel on CSPAN was supposed to put the best public face on the Afghan war for the sake of US public consumption. It turned out to be the opposite effect when they responded to the audience questions. Last time that panel takes questions from the audience

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

Not just 1000 body bag homecomings
Not just 10,000 broken bodys rolling home like Tom Cruise in "Born on 4th July"
Not just 50,000 PTSD broken brains never free to function again
It will affect everyone as the war wastes a trillion dollars of money and pushes the dollar into the dumpster.

Get ready for double digits in both inflation & unemployment.

[MalleusMaleficarum]

The handwriting has been on the wall for a long time: Afghanistan is irrelevant to US security. No Afghans were involved in 9/11. McChrystal's 'report' is a thinly disguised piece of propaganda for mission creep that would insert thousands more American troops between the people of Afghanistan and the Taliban in what has become a savage civil war. In 8 years, the mission has morphed from 'mission improbable' to 'mission impossible.' For once, George Will is right -- it is time to pull out.

[NCAV2]

Agreed