A fghanistan is in trouble again. U.S. officials now warn that more troops are needed to combat a rising insurgency. This is not the first time that warning has been issued, but the urgency is increasing. The Taliban appears to be making a resurgence, other extremist forces are growing in strength and violence is up.
More coalition force members were killed in Afghanistan in June than any other month since the Taliban was overthrown in 2001. In fact, U.S. forces suffered more combat deaths in Afghanistan than in Iraq for the second straight month. Failure to stabilize Afghanistan will leave a failed state in the heart of a critical geopolitical region.
Currently, some 70,000 coalition troops are deployed throughout Afghanistan. About half — 32,000 — are from the United States; the rest are from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO. Yet, even though troop levels are climbing, violence is too. Attacks on coalition forces have increased 40 percent in the first five months of 2008 over the corresponding months of the previous year.