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Obama Wars Title: 8 US Troops Killed in Wave of Afghan Attacks (July 14) -- Eight U.S. troops have been killed over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan after a barrage of attacks by insurgents, NATO and Afghan officials said today. The carnage began late Tuesday night, The Associated Press reports, when the Taliban unleashed a suicide car bomber, rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire on an elite police station in restive southern Afghanistan, killing three U.S. troops and five Afghan civilians. Four more troops died today when a roadside bomb exploded, the AP said, and a fifth died after a gun battle. The complex and apparently well-planned attack on Tuesday began when an explosives-packed car slammed into the entrance of the Afghan National Civil Order Police in Kandahar, followed by insurgents jumping out of hiding places and firing on a combined force of U.S. troops and Afghan police stationed there. Troops eventually fought off the attackers and prevented them from penetrating the base. Details were carried by several news outlets. An Afghan policeman also died, the AP reported. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in calls to foreign reporters. Qari Yousef Ahmadi put the casualty figures at 13 NATO troops dead and eight Afghan soldiers, but the Taliban often exaggerates such tolls. There was no word on how many insurgents died. The brazen assault came just hours after a rogue Afghan soldier killed three British troops in nearby Helmand province, though it's unclear whether he was a Taliban agent in disguise or acting out of another grievance. A manhunt is under way for the escaped Afghan gunman. The incident revived feelings of deep mistrust between foreign troops and their Afghan allies at a time when NATO is stepping up efforts to train them. The Kandahar attack was similar to previous ones this spring at a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan, and another one at the biggest U.S. airfield in the country, Bagram. All of the attacks had careful planning, using a deadly mix of suicide bombers and small-arms fire that lasted hours. Last month, a U.N. report cited an "alarming trend" when it noted a 94 percent increase in roadside bombs in Afghanistan, compared with last year, as well as double the number of complex suicide attacks. "The shift to more complex suicide attacks demonstrates a growing capability of the local terrorist networks linked to al-Qaida," it said. Part of the reason for increased violence in Afghanistan is that more troops are on the ground and engaging Taliban fighters more often, the report said. An additional 30,000 American troops have been deployed, mostly to the country's south, where NATO is fighting to oust Taliban militants from their spiritual homeland. A total of more than 140,000 foreign troops are currently on the ground. The Afghan police station targeted on Tuesday night was close to one of 11 new checkpoints NATO and Afghan troops have set up across Kandahar in an effort to increase security there. The points are manned jointly by NATO and Afghan police, in a manner similar to the Civil Order police station. Amid renewed fighting there, June was the deadliest month ever for foreign forces in the nine-year-old Afghan war. Last month 103 NATO troops died in Afghanistan. At least 40 have died so far in July, including 28 Americans.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Another of Boy Blunder's blunders... The GOP mantra if this continues is going to be "Cut and run"...
#3. To: war (#1)
The GOP mantra if this continues is going to be "Cut and run"... Your point being?
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