Is U.S. War Strategy Working In Iraq And Afghanistan?

A U.S. Army soldier walks through a valley during a patrol through Malajat, Afghanistan, June 4, 2011. The soldiers are assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade. The purpose of the mission is to gather atmospherics from the local population and to distribute psychological operations products. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Canaan Radcliffe

More U.S. Troop Deaths Raise Questions About Strategy -- McClathcy News

WASHINGTON — June was the deadliest month in nearly a year for U.S. service members in Afghanistan and Iraq even as the United States said that improved security in both countries allows it to reduce troops in those war zones.

Sixty U.S. service members were killed in the wars in June, from hostile and nonhostile incidents. The last time the United States lost that many troops in a month was last July, when 65 American service members died in Afghanistan and four were killed in Iraq.

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My Comment: Every year the politicians and generals talk about forward progress on the ground in Afghanistan .... but every year the casualty rate for civilians, coalition forces, Afghan forces, and the Taliban increases substantially. 2011 is not going to be an exception, and I expect even more casualties as the withdrawal of U.S. and other coalition partners start this summer.

As for Iraq ... it is a different story. U.S. forces are no longer vital to the security of the Iraqi state (the numbers are no longer there) .... it is a role that is now being assumed by the Iraq army itself. Unfortunately .... Iraq has a long history of sectarian conflict, and I expect this conflict to continue when the last U.S. soldier has left. Because of this status .... the most important thing now for every U.S. soldier in Iraq is to not be that last soldier who gets killed in Iraq.