DOD US Military Casualties in Afghanistan as of 01 Jun 2012

 "The war in Afghanistan, as we know it, is over."  Those were the words of President Obama after the NATO summit last month.  Yet another 12 U.S. soldiers have been killed in action (KIA) and three died of presumably accidents, while at least 120 were wounded in action (WIA).  At least two UK soldiers and one other NATO soldier were also killed.

The relationship with Pakistan couldn't be worse after the arrest of Shakeel Afridi  on May 24th and sentencing to 33 years in jail under Pakistan's archaic system of tribal justice.  Publicly the United States has not placed much pressure on Pakistan other than Congress punishing Pakistan with a $33 Million cut to aid.  The punishment is a drop in the bucket.

The US continues with drone attacks into Pakistan, with everyone killed called a militant.  With the election campaign in the US in full swing, the media has concentrated on the trivial, like the so-called war on women by the GOP, Bain Capital performance to discredit Mitt Romney, who is now officially the GOP nominee to challenge President Obama.  Afghanistan, after the NATO summit in Chicago is off the radar again. 

Yesterday's job figures were again dismal, with only 69,000 jobs created, while 150,000 were expected.  The unemployment figure rose to 8.2%.  Many of those unemployed are veterans.  While last weekend, Memorial weekend, paid homage to those killed in America's wars, the reality is that they are out of sight and mind for the remainder of the year.

The situation in Syria has reached a critical point, with little agreement in the UN on how to deal with it.  Russia and China are at odds with Western powers on how to deal with the Assad regime.  Iran continues to be a thorn in the eye of the United States, with little chance of reaching an agreement to stop Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

France will have its combat troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, Australia will leave a year earlier, while Canada will not make any further commitments past March 2014.  The ten year war has been costly.  Whether or not the Karzai government can take over responsibility of Afghanistan remains to be seen.

While the war in Afghanistan, as we know it, is over, let's remember that it is not over for the thousands of NATO soldiers serving in the war torn nation.  Even one more dead soldier or civilian is too many.  Take a moment this week and remember that young soldiers are still dieing.  Lest We Forget.

Roll of Casualties

Below are this week’s updated DoD casualty figures:

Op Enduring Freedom                  Total Deaths       KIA   Non Hostile              WIA

Afghanistan Only                                   1872               1552        320                     16144
Other Locations                                        112                   12        100
 DoD Civ Casualties                                     3                     1            2
Worldwide Total                                     1987                1565        422                    16144

Accumulated 2012 Casualties:

KIA            Non Combat Deaths             WIA

 100                           52                               916