When Will It End?

In the last 8 years there have been 918 US soldier deaths in Afghanistan and 4,380 in Iraq according to the most recent tally from the US Defense Department. By some counts, there have been 1,649 coalition deaths in Afghanistan, which includes 1,000 Americans, since we began the war on terror. Thousands of civilians have been killed.

On March 1st there were 4 more NATO deaths and 9 civilian deaths in separate attacks, a result of American and Afghan forces trying to consolidate control over the former insurgent stronghold of Marjah. What are the realities of this war, are we winning, losing, will we ever get to leave?

General McChrystal promised to reduce the number of air strikes, so why has he tripled the amount since last year? Should we use drones when they increase the likelihood of civilian deaths?

• How can one expect “Government in a Box” strategy to work when the officials aren’t elected or wanted?

• Why is Obama ordering more troops when he plans to end the war within a year? Is there a military solution?

• What does it mean to “capture” the Taliban? How will the Taliban counter?

• What are the objectives of this war and what is the future focus of our presence in Afghanistan?