As the Obama Administration looks to escalate the war in Afghanistan by doubling the number of American forces on the ground, Vice President Joe Biden concedes that Americans should expect a higher death toll this year than in years past.

“I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be. There will be an uptick,” Biden insists. Yet the 2008 death toll was already 151 American soldiers, the most yet in the seven year long war, so any further increase from the Obama escalation is likely to be viewed as more than just “an uptick.”

Even before the Obama Administration’s “surge” was announced, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen was predicting that the situation in Afghanistan would be even worse in 2009. With the Taliban’s growing influence across the nation the US forces are likely to face an uphill battle.

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