DoD US Military Casualties In Afghanistan as of 27 Apr 2012

 As the security for Afghanistan transfers to the control of Afghan Security Forces, another 12 U.S. soldiers have given their life in the war torn country.  Six soldiers were killed in action (KIA), six died of other causes, while an additional 41 joined the wounded warriors.  

NATO ministers met this week to discuss the way ahead in Afghanistan, ahead of a summit to be held in Chicago in May.  The U.S. and Afghanistan announced that a "Strategic Partnership Treaty" had been finalized, ready for signature by President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.  The treaty was to deal with supporting and funding approximately 352,000 Afghan soldiers and policeman by 2014.  Afghan Forces are expected to level at 228,500.  

Total cost of the package is expected to be about $4.2 Billion, of which the U.S. has committed to paying $4.2 Billion.  The treaty also addresses residual NATO/US troop strength post 2014 and the issue of night raids by special forces has also been addressed.  The U.S. has apparently made a concession on that issue and all night raids will now be planned and led by Afghan Security Forces.

Australia has announced that it will withdraw its troops by the end of this year, one year ahead of schedule, while the UK is going ahead with a withdrawal of 500 troops this year.  Apparently the Pentagon/White House have requested that Australia and Canada leave a small contingent of troops, probably Special Forces beyond 2014 to assist Afghans with training and in the capture of insurgents. Of course there is still the issue of insurgents in Pakistan.  

NATO leaders are making it clear that they are not prepared to leave Afghanistan to its own vices and that they will assist the Afghan government in any way they can to assure success and end the war in Afghanistan.  

In the US the election general election campaign is in full swing with both sides spouting rhetoric to demonize the other.  Americans can expect one of the dirtiest campaigns, full of Super PAC ads that will be beyond belief.  As Mitt Romney has all but wrapped up the GOP nomination, the White House and the Obama campaign have turned their focus on Romney and of course the Romney campaign on the incumbent President.  With the campaigns in full swing now, the winners are the media that air those ads, which cost obscene amounts.  One would think with an economy still struggling, millions of unemployed and on food stamps or other assistance, this money could be used better elsewhere.  

The global economy at best is shaky.  The Dutch government collapsed over austerity measures.  French President Nicolas Sarkozy is facing a run-off election and Germany's Angela Merkel is under pressure to quit subsidizing the rest of Europe.  

Needless to say there is a lot of pressure on governments to stop spending money on wars and to get out of Afghanistan.   Meanwhile troops are still putting their life on the line daily in Afghanistan.  Just yesterday the 410th British soldier died in Helmand Province.  Take a moment this week and think about those sacrificing their life.  Lest We Forget.

Below are this week’s updated DoD casualty figures:

Op Enduring Freedom                  Total Deaths       KIA   Non Hostile              WIA

Afghanistan Only                                   1828               1516        312                     15713
Other Locations                                        112                   12        100
DoD Civ Casualties                                      3                     1            2
Worldwide Total                                     1943                1529        414                    15713

Accumulated 2012 Casualties:

KIA            Non Combat Deaths             WIA

  62                            43                               535

 List of Casualties at Casualties.org

Photos of Troops Posing with Dead Afghans - Was the Publication Irresponsible?

The LA Times, which received 18 pictures of soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division posing with dead bodies of the Taliban, published two.  The two pictures released depict two separate occasions, where this apparently occurred.  Was this part of the journalistic duty of the LA Times or was it irresponsible?

The editor of the LA Times, Davan Maharaj,was warned by the Pentagon that publishing the photos could put US troops in danger.   Despite the warning, Maharaj and the newspaper decided to use the graphic images, stating that it was part of fulfilling its mission of informing readers about the US military effort in Afghanistan.

The US military has come under criticism in Afghanistan for a video and pictures published in January showing Marines urinating on dead Taliban, the burning of the Koran at Bagram airbase, and the massacre of 17 Afghans by Staff Sergeant Bales during a rampage in Kandahar province.  Add to that the killing of civilians during night raids and you have the perfect storm for the Taliban.

General Allen, U.S. military commander in Afghanistan called the behaviour entirely inconsistent with the values of the American-led coalition, while in Kabul US ambassador Ryan Crocker called the actions of those involved "morally repugnant." 

A Pentagon spokesman said that the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, "strongly rejects" the conduct of the 82nd Airborne Division soldiers who featured in the photos.

"Anyone found responsible for this inhuman conduct will be held accountable in accordance with our military justice system," he said.

The US military has pledged that there would be an investigation but expressed disappointment that the LA Times had published the pictures.

Leon Panetta, who is attending a NATO ministers conference in Brussels, said that he strongly condemns the actions of the soldiers, but portrayed them as immature reactions to battlefield stress.

“This is war, and I know war is ugly and is violent,” Panetta said. “I know young people sometimes caught up in the moment make some very foolish decisions.”
“I am not excusing that behavior,” he added
The war in Afghanistan is in a  critical phase.  The Taliban has been emboldened with events that have occurred lately and can use these latest pictures as a propaganda tool, demonstrating to the public that U.S. troops are not there to help them.   Fueling the fire only puts the lives of  the remaining U.S. and NATO troops in danger.

Are the pictures repugnant?  Of course they are.  Recent events also indicate that there is some sort of disciplinary breakdown within the military, which almost seems like deja vous and Vietnam all over again.   There needs to be an examination of what stress these multiple tour put on troops.  These incidents are a symptom of a bigger problem.

The Pentagon and the Administration should have been made aware of this incident to ensue it deals with it.  As far as the pictures go "Discretion is the better part of valour."  While the LA Times could have monitored Pentagon actions, it should have held back with the publication of these pictures.