Another Milepost On The Road To Oblivion

A grim milestone indeed this time as June set a record number of military coalition troop deaths in Afghanistan.

As the Afghan war's bloodiest month for Western forces drew to a close Wednesday, the widening scope and relentless tempo of battlefield casualties pointed to a formidable challenge for U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the incoming commander.

At least 102 coalition troops were killed in June in Afghanistan, according to the independent website icasualties.org, far surpassing the previous highest monthly total of 76 military fatalities in August 2009.

In a reflection of the increasingly American face of the war as the summer's troop buildup presses ahead, at least 60 of those killed were U.S. service members, including a soldier killed by small-arms fire Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan. The previous highest monthly death toll for American forces was in October 2009, when 59 were killed.

Buried roadside bombs continued to cause the majority of fatalities, despite what the military has described as some success using electronic surveillance to spot insurgents planting explosives and to stage raids on bomb-making rings.

But a plethora of other hazards have pushed to the fore as Petraeus, who was confirmed Wednesday by the Senate, 99-0, takes command in Afghanistan. Firefights, helicopter crashes, ambushes, sniper fire and complex coordinated assaults — such as Wednesday's attempt by insurgents to fight their way onto NATO's largest airbase in eastern Afghanistan — have also exacted a significant toll in deaths and injuries.

As the pattern of fatalities shows, it is a war with a widening geographical reach. The country's east and south, the traditional Taliban strongholds, predictably saw the heaviest fighting, but a swath of the north became increasingly restive as well.

A day in which a Western military death does not occur somewhere in Afghanistan has become rare. And fatalities in clusters of four or more in a single incident have become increasingly common. On two days in June, the daily tallies reached nine and 10.

And of course this isn't counting the civilian deaths in Afghanistan either.  Those are orders of magnitude worse.

How's that whole surge thing working out for you there, Mr. President?  And why the hell are we still in this hellhole?