Most Deadly Month for NATO Forces in Afghanistan

June has become the deadliest month for NATO forces in the nine-year war in Afghanistan.

An Associated Press count based on announcements by the alliance and national commands shows 76 international service members have died this month. The total includes 46 Americans.

The previous deadliest month for the multinational force was July 2009, when 75 troops were killed. For the U.S. contingent, the deadliest month was October 2009, when 59 service members were killed.

NATO says eight troops died today. That makes 75 deaths this month, matching the total for July 2009.

Military officials say the eight includes four Americans, two Romanians and a British Marine, who died in combat. Two Italians died in a vehicle accident.

The violence is also hitting Afghans. A provincial police official says a vehicle belonging to a candidate for parliament hit a roadside bomb early today, killing the candidate's brother and wounding the candidate.

Also today, seven private security guards were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that bombing. The guards were providing security for a construction company that was building a road in the area.

Afghan officials said Wednesday that firing Gen. Stanley McChrystal would disrupt progress in the war and could jeopardize a pivotal security operation under way in Taliban strongholds in the south.

[babooph]

Mc Chrystal assured the "surge" he called for would give us a "win" ,now he finds a way out -BUT ONLY FOR HIMSELF!!!

[jmca2009]

Obama promised to get us out of Iraq in 16 months and to finish Afghanistan after Bush screwed it up. To Quote Obama during the election:

"We've got to get the job done there, and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there."

I guess it is turning out to be more difficult than just criticizing the former President.

The Russians, British, even Alexander the Great have all met with defeat in Afghanistan, so do we pull out now with our tail between our legs or later after we've lost more lives.

[fedup12]

should have been fighting this war since 03. We would be done by now.

[mjlewis6]

If the argument were Afghani views only, then the last US Presidential Election should not have taken place since it would undermine the war effort in Afghanistan.

Surely, the training of Afghanis to defend and protect their own country should be coming to an end soon with an American withdrawal
next year. All of G.W. Bush's objectives having been met. I believe the last objective was dropping a very large bomb on Bora Bora while Osama bin Ladin was escaping into Pakistan. Bush decided that Osama was not all that important anymore...and invaded Iraq.

[wyodutch]

Meanwhile, $3,000,000,000 a WEEK is confiscated from the American taxpayer and wasted on our idiotic, perpetual wars.
.
What a racket.

[jwesel1]

This is one waste of money neocons love since it doesn't help ordinary Americans.