43 U.S. Troops Have Died in Afghanistan Since Gen. McChrystal Called for Reinforcements

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
By Susan Jones, Senior Editor


(CNSNews.com) – Another American died in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the final day of September--and exactly one month after the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan sent a confidential war assessment to the Obama administration, warning that more forces are needed--soon.

The as-yet-unnamed American serviceman who died on Wednesday was caught in a suicide attack in Khost Province, in eastern Afghanistan, press reports said.

On August 30, Gen. Stanley McChrystal sent Defense Secretary Robert Gates a war assessment in which he said more U.S. troops--and a new U.S. strategy--are needed if the U.S. is to defeat the insurgents in Afghanistan.

Since that Aug. 30 date, a total of 43 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have died in a war that is now the subject of much discussion--and apparently some confusion--in Washington. Forty-two of those casualties have been identified by name in U.S. Defense Department press releases (see below), while the 43rd casualty, which occurred today, has been confirmed in press reports, but not by name.

In his confidential report, which was leaked to the Washington Post on Sept. 21, Gen. McChrystal warned that defeating the insurgents will not be possible if the United States fails to "gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum" over the next 12 months.

McChrystal reportedly has prepared a separate request for tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops to be sent to the 68,000 already in Afghanistan.

Since Sept. 21, when the Washington Post leaked information from McChrystal's confidential report, the White House has been on the defensive over its Afghanistan strategy.

As CNSNews.com reported on Tuesday, Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to reinforce U.S. troops in Afghanistan, which he described as war we "have to win."

As president – in March 2009 – Obama announced a "comprehensive new strategy" for Afghanistan: "I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to prevent their return to either country in the future," he said. (See story)

But last week, Obama said he was not willing to send troops "beyond what we already have" until he was sure the United States is employing the right strategy in the region.

Then on Sunday, Gen. McChrystal told "60 Minutes" that he has talked to Obama only once in the past 70 days. At a briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs noted that President Obama "receives a memo every week from General McChrystal."

And on Wednesday, President Obama was "meeting" with McChrystal and other military officials in a video conference to discuss future plans for Afghanistan. The White House said President Obama's national security team will also attend the video conference.

"But first, Obama welcomes golfing great Arnold Palmer to the Oval Office," the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Palmer is in town to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

On Thursday, Obama plans to fly to Copenhagen to pitch Chicago as the venue for the 2016 Olympics. (See related story)

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says it would be a mistake for President Obama to reject McChrystal's call for an additional 40,000-or-so troops for Afghanistan.

"Time is not on our side, so we need a decision pretty quickly," McCain told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday.

McCain said failure to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan would "put the United States in much greater danger," because insurgents would turn Afghanistan into a base for attack on the U.S. and its allies.

On the other side of the coin, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is urging President Obama to take weeks or even months to review the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, the Boston Globe reported on Wednesday.
"I am arguing that the president has the time and we have the time,'' Kerry told the newspaper. Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, indicated that he is not sure more troops are needed in Afghanistan.