Ignoring The War In Afghanistan

U.S. soldiers provide security in Mush Kahel village in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, July 23, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andrew Baker

Obama And Romney Are Ignoring The Afghanistan War -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

Here’s some news that both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney would like you to ignore: Tens of thousands of American soldiers are at war this summer in Afghanistan.

Though you’d never know it from listening to the candidates, U.S. Marine and Army units have been fighting hard against the Afghan Taliban across the south and east of the country. They are taking considerable casualties. In July, according to the Web site icasualties.org, 46 American and coalition troops were killed — the highest total since last September. Six more died in the first few days of August.

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Remember The War In Afghanistan? Obama And Romney Don’t Seem To. -- Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post

There are still almost 80,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and each month brings a few dozen home in coffins — more than 2,000 since 2001. Hundreds more arrive on medical evacuation flights, many of them without a limb. The war will cost taxpayers more than $100 billion this year. The Taliban, which enjoys sanctuary in nuclear-armed Pakistan, continues to conduct devastating attacks on the Afghan government and the civilian population.

But you wouldn’t know any of it from listening to President Obama and Mitt Romney on the campaign trail. They may not agree on much, but when it comes to the decade-old conflict, they have adopted the same strategy on the stump: Say as little as possible — sometimes not a word — and quickly change the subject.

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My Comment: Both Washington Post commentaries are on the money.