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Ear to the Ground

U.S. Troop Fatalities Double in Afghanistan

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Posted on Dec 27, 2009
U.S. Air Force / Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol

A scene from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. In 2009, 310 U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan.

A U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan on Sunday raised the American death toll in 2009 to exactly twice the number of those soldiers killed there in that country in 2008. After eight years in Afghanistan, 940 U.S.—and 613 coalition—soldiers have died. 

Casualty statistics are available at iCasualties—JCL

Agence France-Presse via Google News:

A US solder was killed in Afghanistan, NATO said on Sunday, raising the American death toll to twice the number of those killed there in 2008, according to an AFP tally.

The NATO-run International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the soldier died from an improvised explosive device (IED), the biggest killer of foreign troops in the eight-year battle to contain a Taliban insurgency.

“An ISAF service member from the United States died following an IED strike in southern Afghanistan Saturday,” the force said in a statement.

The death takes this year’s international military casualties in Afghanistan to 506, according to an AFP tally based on independent website icasualties.org which tracks military deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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By mandinka, December 28, 2009 at 2:33 pm Link to this comment

what do you expect as the black LBJ decides the rules of engagement. He’s tied the hands of the military preferring for our guys to take casualties rather than letting the enemy die. this isn’t about war but protecting his muslim buddies

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By ambro42, December 28, 2009 at 10:19 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

God bless the patriots of Afghanistan and grace their opposition to imperial occupation.

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DieDaily's avatar

By DieDaily, December 28, 2009 at 2:06 am Link to this comment

Double? Wow, that’s pretty good since there are only about 100 alciada there now according to the army. Why did we go over there again? I forget. Anyone remember?

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EJH's avatar

By EJH, December 27, 2009 at 11:21 pm Link to this comment

A certain number of American soldiers will have to
die before the people in power decide to give up on
Afghanistan.  The sooner this number is reached, the
sooner the war will end.  The sooner the war ends,
the fewer people will be maimed or killed.  (American
readers, as difficult as it may be, please try to
remember that Afghans are people, too, and their
deaths matter as much as American deaths.) 
Therefore, since each American military death takes
us one small step closer to ending the war, let’s
hope they come as soon as possible.  My hope is that
as few people as possible, regardless of nationality,
should die. 

Of course, if the American people would take action
and demand an end to their nation’s war making, fewer
American soldiers (volunteer mercenaries all of them,
let us not forget) and far fewer Afghans, Pakistanis,
Iraqis, Yemenis, etc. would have to die.  You
Americans have the power to stop all of this.  No one
else can do it.

http://theunpeople.blogspot.com/

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By diamond, December 27, 2009 at 8:10 pm Link to this comment

LemuelG how dare you compare a soldier being killed in Afghanistan with a soldier getting a blister on his toe? I’m sure all the parents who have lost their children over there in this futile neo con war will be really pleased to hear how much you value their child’s life. Yes, they shouldn’t be there. Yes, the war was started on a lie,as the war in Iraq was, but soldiers do as they’re told and go where they’re sent. Some people argue that they shouldn’t, that they should rebel but they are trained not to do that. Trained to obey. In any case deserting in Afghanistan is probably a sure way to be shot or captured since there is really nowhere to go. Be that as it may I hope you do hear of every single soldier’s death in Afghanistan: even if you obviously think they are expendable. The conservatives are the retarded ones. After all, they’re the ones who want to go back to the Medieval era and are only too happy to shoot progress in the head, if that’s what it takes.

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By LemuelG, December 27, 2009 at 7:15 pm Link to this comment

(sure, Obama is listening - just stand a little taller on your soapbox, shout a little louder - you are relevant)

Are we to hear of every single American casualty now? Will the presses be stopped when private J. Bloggs gets a blister on his toe from humping-around the mountains all day?

Can retarded ‘progs’ ever resist an opportunity for verbose pontificating?

These are questions that demand answers.

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By Cole..., December 27, 2009 at 6:01 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Israel does not need a WAR on or near its border, not anymore than the US needs or would tolerate a war in Mexico waged by foreign governments in Europe or Asia.

These twin wars are in U.S. interests: the Oil, Munitions makers, ‘contrators’,etc, interests. The U.S. went near ballistic on Russian missles in Cuba and no one was getting hurt!  The U.S. went on an invasion quest based on lies and did so even though the Peace movement was emense and world wide. And we are still there and escalating based on more of the same. We have one War is Peace dope president following in the footsteps of the other War is Peace dope. Only this one thinks about it for a while. Comes to the same line of thought, which one is the real dope?

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By glider, December 27, 2009 at 1:13 pm Link to this comment

Yet Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama declares the doublespeak of War is Peace, and sleeps well at night.  Send your little girls into battle to realize the full impact of your crime against humanity.  It is easier to sacrifice others children isn’t it?  You claim to be going after the perpetrators of 911 with near 200,000 troop/contractors?  And you have analyzed this bullshit in isolation with your MIC war machine advisors?  Yes, all interested parties are at the table in making this decision on C-Span you lying SOB!  Decisions are not made behind closed doors you lying SOB!  How comforting that these MIC representatives have no conceivable ulterior motive and only have the American people’s interest at heart.  You need to get on the boob tube and explain your campaign farce and set the American people straight as to what we can really expect from you after your massive campaign of lies, no more bullshit.  Words have meaning other than what is needed to when a school debate!  This is serious shit and not a game.  Obama, you tool of the elite, please pull your head out of the MIC’s ass and try to use your rhetorical abilities to educate the public rather than lead them further into the abyss.  Inside I know by experience I give you too much credit to be praying any further in the land of Hope-A-Dope.  You will be remembered as a Corporatist sellout President that ascended to power via a front of unprecidented campaign lies and who presided over the Corporatist destruction of Democracy in America.  Can you even conceive of the betrayal you have wrought on the young believers who swept you into office based on your pack of lies?

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By trthr, December 27, 2009 at 1:00 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

This war isn’t in the U.S. interest.  It’s being fought on behalf of Israel and opium profits.

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