At the same time, the cable described the riots as having “positive and negative implications for the US.” Going into detail, they made clear that the “good” aspect of the riots was that they had solidified the Danish government’s support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The negative aspect would seem incredible to anyone unfamiliar with the WikiLeaks cablegate releases up to this point and the comfort with which State Department officials condemn the notion of personal freedom throughout. The negative aspect, and this is a direct quote, is that “this popular center-right government has hardened its views on the absolute primacy of free speech.”

Of course official US hostility to the notion of a free press should come as no surprise, particularly at this moment, with officials attempting to censor the details of such reports themselves. Repeatedly in the cable, however, officials look disapprovingly at the government of Anders Fogh Rasmussen (who has since become NATO’s Secretary General) for its unwillingness to even consider censoring the Danish press, and their annoyance that the opposition wasn’t taking the opportunity to chastize him for his position, describing free speech as “a third rail issue in Danish politics.”

The deaths included three NATO troops killed in a single clash with insurgents in the eastern portion of the country. The nationalities of the slain were not released by NATO, but the Danish government confirmed that one of those slain in Helmand was from Denmark.

The violence adds more punctuation to a 2010 which has been by far the deadliest on record since the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan. The timing is particularly inconvenient for the ever enthusiastic supporters of the conflict in NATO’s command structure, as the Lisbon Summit on Afghanistan is just days away.

The Lisbon Summit is unlikely to net any major policy changes from the alliance, though it is expected to be the formal announcement of some measure of Russian involvement in the struggling war. It seems though most nations are willing to keep the conflict going more or less indefinitely to avoid a clash with the US, it also appears that few are willing to commit any additional troops, and most expect that the 2011 troop levels will be roughly the same as the 2010 levels. Whether this translates to more record death tolls, however, remains to be seen.

“We are one of the countries that contributes the most to Afghanistan,” Espersen explained, adding that the Danish government “is under no obligation to do more” in the nation. Denmark currently has about 730 troops in Afghanistan which is about 0.6% of the overall occupation force.

And while this may not seem like much it is actually more than any other Scandanavian nation has in Afghanistan, and with much of its force centered in Helmand Province the Danish troops have among the worst death tolls as a percentage of any in Afghanistan.

As with many other European nations, the current financial crisis has them looking to reduce the cost of their militaries, and in Denmark’s case this appears to preclude escalating their force in Afghanistan. Danish officials say they hope to have their troops out of Afghanistan by 2015.

One of the soldiers insisted that it has gotten to the point where he has been completely unable to convince anyone that the mission is good. Denmark has about 750 troops in Afghanistan, mostly combat forces in Helmand Province.

But Møller slammed the soldier’s comment and said even having a debate about leaving Afghanistan “would strengthen the Taliban and al-Qaeda.” He has insisted that providing security is the top priority for the troops there.

Denmark has had 26 combat casualties since its troops joined the American-led occupation in 2002. Danish voters are split roughly down the middle about continuing the war, but very few believe that it can be won.

Turkey, another NATO member, seems to have serious reservations about Rasmussen. Officials pointed to the seething resentment stemming from the 2006 cartoon published in a Danish newspaper. Rasmussen was also instrumental in blocking Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

Rasmussen was an outspoken supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, famously declaring in the Danish Parliament the day before the attack began that “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. This is not something we just believe. We know.”When pulling the troops out of Iraq last year he described himself as “favorable to sending more troops to Afghanistan,” declaring that victory in the war was “essential.”