More Americans were killed in Afghanistan in August than in any other month this year. 38 Americans died in Afghanistan as of Aug. 31, according to the website icasualties.org.
U.S. military fatalities were driven by the phenomenon of “insider” attacks in which members of the Afghan security forces turn their weapons on Western troops. Of the 15 such deaths in August, 12 were of Americans. Another nine coalition deaths, seven of them Americans, occurred in helicopter crashes.
It should be noted however, military deaths in August were down significantly from the same month in 2011, when 82 members of the NATO force were killed, 71 of them Americans. That was also the most lethal month of that year. American troop strength peaked last year at just over 100,000; by the end of September it will have dropped to 68,000.
Afghanistan is a war and we all know the terrible truth that in war you take casualties. What is particularly bothersome to me about these casualties is the many and increasing number of "Green on Blue" killings. Green on Blue is a term they have coined to describe instances when our Afghan partners turn their weapons on us.
Our military and civilian authorities have been attempting to take steps to stop these attacks. Only time will tell how successful they are But I suspect that the closer to the final withdrawal date we get, the more the attacks will happen. To me this is a shadow foretelling what we may expect to see when the Afghanistan government is given full control and responsibility for it's own security.
--And it is not a pretty picture that is coming into focus....
U.S. military fatalities were driven by the phenomenon of “insider” attacks in which members of the Afghan security forces turn their weapons on Western troops. Of the 15 such deaths in August, 12 were of Americans. Another nine coalition deaths, seven of them Americans, occurred in helicopter crashes.
It should be noted however, military deaths in August were down significantly from the same month in 2011, when 82 members of the NATO force were killed, 71 of them Americans. That was also the most lethal month of that year. American troop strength peaked last year at just over 100,000; by the end of September it will have dropped to 68,000.
Afghanistan is a war and we all know the terrible truth that in war you take casualties. What is particularly bothersome to me about these casualties is the many and increasing number of "Green on Blue" killings. Green on Blue is a term they have coined to describe instances when our Afghan partners turn their weapons on us.
Our military and civilian authorities have been attempting to take steps to stop these attacks. Only time will tell how successful they are But I suspect that the closer to the final withdrawal date we get, the more the attacks will happen. To me this is a shadow foretelling what we may expect to see when the Afghanistan government is given full control and responsibility for it's own security.
--And it is not a pretty picture that is coming into focus....
Live Long and Prosper....
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