[Peace-discuss] This to stop terrorism?

[Robert Naiman]

This Reuters report was wrong. The 1000 number on icasualties.org is
all "operation enduring freedom," including the Horn of Africa and the
Philippines. The correct number for Afghanistan right now is more like
930.

On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 3:44 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu> wrote:
>        U.S. death toll in Afghanistan hits 1,000: website
>        Michael Georgy
>        KABUL, Afghanistan
>        Tue Feb 23, 2010 2:10am EST
>
> KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The number of American soldiers killed in
> Afghanistan has reached 1,000, an independent website said on Tuesday, a
> grim reminder that eight years of fighting has failed to defeat Taliban
> insurgents.
>
> Icasualties.org said 54 U.S. troops were killed this year in Afghanistan,
> raising the casualties to 1,000, compared to eight in Iraq, where the total
> has reached 4,378. The rise to 1,000 dead coincides with one of the biggest
> offensives against the Taliban, a NATO-led assault in the Marjah district of
> Helmand, Afghanistan's most violent province.
>
> The operation is an early test of U.S. President Barack Obama's troop surge
> strategy aimed as wresting control of Taliban bastions and handing them over
> to Afghan authorities before the start of a gradual U.S. troop withdrawal in
> 2011.
>
> Afghanistan is high on Obama's foreign policy agenda and more American
> casualties or a military campaign that fails to bring stability to the
> country could harm his presidency.
>
> Violence is at its highest level since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban. Last
> year was the deadliest of the war for civilians and foreign troops.
>
> Marjah is a prime example of the challenge facing U.S. troops and their NATO
> allies. They have taken over key areas, but still face pockets of stiff
> resistance from the Taliban, who have littered roads with hidden bombs.
>
> The success of the operation hinges on whether they can keep Taliban
> fighters from re-capturing their stronghold and ensure Afghan forces can
> secure the area on their own.
>
> Ultimately Marjah can only be stable once the local government provides
> enough jobs and economic opportunities to keep the local population on its
> side, eradicating conditions that breed militancy, analysts say.
>
> Obama announced in December he was adding 30,000 more U.S. troops to the
> Afghan war effort. He hopes to start bringing U.S. troops home from
> Afghanistan in the middle of 2011.
>
> (Editing by Bryson Hull and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
>
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-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

Change.org: End the war in Afghanistan
Timeline for Withdrawal and Political Negotiations
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/end_the_war_in_afghanistan_establish_a_timeline_for_withdrawal_and_begin_political_negotiations

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