Obama’s Watch: 39 Months, 69 Percent of Afghan War Casualties
(CNSNews.com) - Although President Obama has only served 39 months in
office, 69 percent of the U.S. military fatalities in the more then
10-year-old war in Afghanistan have occurred on his watch.
Through April 30, the Defense Department had reported that 1,844 U.S.
military personnel have been killed in and around Afghanistan while
deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom, which was launched in October
2001 after al Qaeda terrorists attacked the World Trade Towers and the
Pentagon.
According to CNSNews.com’s comprehensive database on Afghan war
casualties, at least 1,275 of the 1,844 U.S. troops killed in Operation
Enduring Freedom have been killed since Jan. 20, 2009, when Barack
Obama was inaugurated as president.
In the more than 10 years the U.S. military has been fighting in
Afghanistan, each of the three deadliest years have been during Obama’s
president. The deadliest year was 2010, when 497 U.S. service
personnel gave their lives in Afghanistan. The second deadliest year
was 2011, when 399 U.S. service personnel gave their lives in
Afghanistan. And the third deadliest year was 2009, when 303 U.S.
service personnel gave their lives in Afghanistan.
On March 22, Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan,
testified in Congress that as of that point 52 U.S. service personnel in
Afghanistan had been killed by Afghan forces. Of those 52, Gen. Allen
said, six had taken place this year alone.
Since Gen. Allen’s testimony, two more U.S. casualties at the hands of Afghan forces have come to light.
On March 16, the Associated Press reported that the Pentagon failed
to identify a U.S. soldier killed by Afghan forces in February. On May
1, the Associated Press reported that on April 25 a U.S. Army special
forces soldier had been killed by Afghan forces.
CNSNews.com’s detailed count of U.S. military fatalities in
Afghanistan is derived from official casualty reports issued by the
Department of Defense (DOD), augmented by information taken from ISAF
and media accounts.
The database includes all U.S. military personnel who died or were
fatally injured in and around Afghanistan while supporting military
efforts in Operation Enduring Freedom, which covers multiple countries.
CNSNews.com’s total count of U.S. fatalities in and around
Afghanistan includes 12 U.S. troops who died in Pakistan and three who
died in the Arabian Sea while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
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