In remarks issued today on a visit to Afghanistan, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen warned that the record levels of violence in Afghanistan are going to only continue to get worse over the summer.
Mullen’s comments echo a number of other comments from top officials, all predicting that the war will continue to worsen, and like those previous comments insisted the ill-defined “goal” of the war was still “within reach.”
Yet these attempts to spin the ever more grim situation as on the verge of finally turning around will likely be taken with even more of a grain of salt than before, as it comes amidst a mass leak of classified documents showing that the war has been going far worse than officials have been willing to publicly let on.
A number of deaths over the weekend have brought the July toll of NATO soldiers to at least 77, making it the deadliest July since the war began. This means 13 consecutive months which were the worst toll for that month. So far the deadliest month in the war has been June of this year, which saw 103 NATO troops killed.
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International forces in Afghanistan say they are urgently investigating reports as many as 45 civilians died in an air strike in Helmand province on Friday.
Nato's initial investigation found no evidence, but a BBC journalist visiting Regey village spoke to several people who said they had seen the incident.
At the time, dozens were sheltering in the village from nearby fighting.
A significant civilian loss of life would be rare this year as a new policy of restraint has reduced casualties.
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(Reuters) - Taliban guerrillas have captured a strategic district from the Afghan government after days of clashes in eastern Nuristan province, officials said on Sunday.
Separately, the Afghan government said it was checking reports by locals saying some 40 Afghan civilians were killed in a raid by foreign forces in Sangin district of southern Helmand province on Friday.
In Nuristan's Barg-e Matal, dozens of Taliban fighters and up to six Afghan police were killed during days of clashes before the district fell to the Taliban overnight.
Barg-e Matal is important for the government and militants because of its location and has regularly changed hands.
Lying near the border with Pakistan, the rugged district has been used as a supply route for arms and fighters for the Taliban in three provinces, most importantly for Badakhshan where the Taliban have mounted a series of deadly attacks recently.
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