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March 4, 2014

Report: Nearly 14,000 Afghan Forces Died in U.S.-Led War 
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New data from the Afghan government shows Afghan forces have borne the
brunt of the U.S.-led invasion, with nearly 14,000 Afghan soldiers and
police killed in the war, a far higher toll than previously known. Most
of the deaths happened in the past three years as the United States
transferred more authority to the Afghans. More than 16,000 Afghan
forces were wounded. The Afghan death toll is four times higher than
that of the U.S.-led coalition, which has seen more than 3,400 soldiers
killed, about 2,300 of them Americans. The report follows Afghan
President Hamid Karzai's statement to The Washington Post that "Afghans
died in a war that's not ours."

President Hamid Karzai: "If you go to President Obama's speeches, he
repeatedly says that he is here for the sake of American interests, for
the safety of America and for the security of America, and that they're
here in Afghanistan helping Afghanistan in order to help America;
therefore, it's not for us."

President Karzai has so far refused to sign a deal to keep U.S. troops
in Afghanistan beyond 2014, leading Obama to threaten a total
withdrawal.

 

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