Violence across Afghanistan has hit its worst since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001. Military and civilian casualties are at record levels, with U.S. and NATO commanders warning of more tough fighting ahead.
The spiraling death tolls come despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan and will be another worrying statistic when U.S. President Barack Obama conducts a strategy review of the war in December.
Public support for the war is flagging, with a recent opinion poll by NBC television and the Wall Street Journal showing as many as seven in 10 Americans saying they did not believe the war would end successfully.
At 328 US casualties so far this year in Afghanistan, we are clearly taking more casualties. But this is wholly predictable. Personally, I was expecting 573 US killed in the war this year. With four more months to go, I think it is safe to say that we fortunately won't reach that number, even though the press won't notice that the sheer number of troops aggressively going after the enemy will lead to more casualties.
As Rumsfeld might have said, you go to war with the press corps you have and not the one you'd like to have.
