Tragic, futile milestone

The results are in: more allied troops have died in Afghanistan this year than in any year since the war began. An "improvised explosive device" killed four American troops today, raising the total of allied dead to 295 for the year, one more than last year's record total. Since the war began, 1,340 have been killed. Of those, 802 have been Americans, including 172 this year.

Update: As of 8 Nov. 2009 it's 466, for a total of 1,513; 916 have been Americans.

Many, many more Afghans have died too, although our news media seem far less interested in them; I suppose they're just part of the scenery although to their families I'm sure their deaths are very real, indeed.

In the meantime, George W. Bush's ill-considered war has morphed into Barack Obama's, and as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs noted on Sunday, the situation is "deteriorating." How many more allied soldiers will die before President Obama decides it's time to stumble to the exit? How many more Afghan civilians?

And what will be left? Another failed state, slipping back into anarchy, chaos and oppression? A destabilized, nuclear Pakistan? An American colossus, further hobbled by debt and weakened by our reckless intrusion into the historical tangle of Afghanistan? There is no good answer, no sure solution. But what seems certain is that this war will end badly, whether it ends soon, or drags on for decades.

Our president is a learned, thoughtful person; he needs to heed the lessons of history, both Afghan and American. We need a credible exit strategy now. We need to do what we can to help Pakistan stabilize. We need to focus our resources on our own problems at home. And we need to staunch the flow of blood and treasure into the rugged soil of Afghanistan.

Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 25 August 2009