Afghan Troop Deaths Soar in Latest Report

Pentagon Insists Transition Remains 'On Track'

Over 12 years into the occupation of Afghanistan, the Pentagon reports remain as upbeat as ever, insisting that the situation is well in hand and their latest transition is “on track.”

The boundless optimism lasts until you get to the actual statistics, which reveal that the escalating violence on the ground is even worse than anyone expected, and casualties among Afghan security forces are up 79 percent year-over-year.

Though the report tried to focus on a decline of NATO casualties, the reality is that the NATO ground troops simply aren’t patrolling as much, and the Taliban are targeting the available Afghan forces instead. And doing major damage.

The report urges continued military aid for the Afghan military, insisting that it is on a “path towards an enduring ability to overmatch the Taliban.”

That’s the plan, at least, but with massive attrition and growing casualties, the Afghan military is facing ridiculous levels of turnover in their recruits, and it is hard to see how that can possibly be sustainable, regardless of the weapons and cash thrown at them by NATO.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.