KABUL (AP) — Five American troops were killed in attacks in southern Afghanistan, where the U.S. and NATO have ramped up operations against the Taliban and seen casualties rise quickly in what has been the deadliest year of the war for international forces. […]
The Pentagon said the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, would ask this week for additional American forces — a number that officials said could reach as high as 40,000 troops. […]
In his report to the White House, McChrystal argued that military commanders should worry less about protecting their own forces and get out into Afghan communities. Although he acknowledged this “could expose military personnel and civilians to greater risk in the near term.”
One day we will leave Afghanistan. That much is certain. The only question that remains is how many people will die before we do leave.*
* McChrystal is beginning to remind me of this guy:
Despite the bombing of the North, ARVN losses grew steadily, and the political situation in Saigon became precarious as one unstable government succeeded another. General William C. Westmoreland, commander of MACV from June 1964 to March 1968 urged the use of United States combat troops to stop the Communist advance, which he predicted, could take over the country within a year.
