One has to seriously wonder what the intentions of the New York Times is with this article 500: Deadly U.S. Milestone in Afghan War. After starting with the human interest angle, something they seem to have cared little about since America went to war in 2001, the Times moves on to tell us
…..And then, in June, the war in Afghanistan roared back into public view when American deaths from hostilities exceeded those in Iraq. In the face of an expanding threat from the Taliban, the conflict is becoming deadlier and much more violent for American troops, who three weeks ago reached their highest deployment levels ever, at 36,000.
June was the second deadliest month for the military in Afghanistan since the war began, with 23 American deaths from hostilities, compared with 22 in Iraq. July was less deadly, with 20 deaths, compared with six in Iraq. On July 22, nearly seven years after the conflict began on Oct. 7, 2001, the United States lost its 500th soldier in the Afghanistan war.
(The Pentagon says that 563 American service members have died in Operation Enduring Freedom, the umbrella term for the global American-led antiterror campaign that has the Afghanistan war at its center and includes deployments in the Philippines and Africa. Of those deaths, according to an analysis by The New York Times, 510 have occurred in Afghanistan or are directly linked to the war there.)
This “milestone” went unmarked when it occured, as has most of the positive news coming from Afghanistan, by the Grey Lady. Reports state that most people will read an on-line story typically through the first 3 paragraphs or 30 seconds.
In reality, the story by the Times is impressive, a good encapsulation of some of the difficulties faced in Afghanistan and by the families who have lost loved ones there. But, considering the highlighting of the deaths in Afghanistan, marking the “milestone,” like the Times and other papers have done with Iraq, seems to have a pointed purpose. What that is can only be guessed at, but, many, many liberals want the US to amscray from Afghanistan, too. Consider
“Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan,†the Atlantic Council of the United States, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to fostering ties between North America and Europe, warned in a report in January. “Unless this reality is understood and action is taken promptly, the future of Afghanistan is bleak.â€
The report was actually one of the more positive assessments among a deluge of critical reports on the war’s progress issued this year by international study groups.
Such dark warnings, along with years of low interest in the conflict among many Americans and even political candidates, have led the families and friends of fallen American service members to wonder whether they perished for a winning cause, a losing one or, worse, a meaningless one.
Run away?
