On Tuesday, President Barack Obama plans to announce a new plan for American involvement in Afghanistan. Estimates say he will
send 30,000 or so additional troops. According to the Christian Science Monitor, he will also
press other countries to send more troops to reach the 40,000 figure that commanders requested.
According to The New York Times, the president will
lay out how the United States will turn control of the country over to the Kabul government, but will not provide a specific time line.
So far, more than 850 Americans have died in and around Afghanistan. Service members who gave the ulimate sacrifice are
listed here, with home cities and states.
More soldiers from California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois have died or been injured in Afghanistan than from other states, as you can see in this
interactive map.
Next to the United States and the United Kingdom,
Canadian troops have suffered the third highest casualties in Afghanistan.A map shows Afghanistan's
southernmost provinces to be the most dangerous.
The majority of the new deployments would begin in February or March 2010. The Washington Post said that by the end of the week,
9,000 Marines will be deployed to hit Taliban targets. The Associated Press said this would be "
the largest expansion since the beginning of the war and one that could bring the cost above $75 billion annually."
AP reported:
"The Afghan war bill hit $43 billion annually this summer, with the addition of 21,000 forces Obama has already added to the fight this year. The White House has given Congress this rough yardstick for future troop increases: Approximately $1 billion a year for each 1,000 troops atop the current record figure of 68,000.
"NATO and other allies collectively have about 45,000 troops in Afghanistan.
"If the full expansion that U.S. military planners anticipate does happen, it would take up to two years to get all the additional U.S. forces into the landlocked country.
"The United States is quietly pressing NATO and other allies to increase forces as well, with a goal of between 5,000 and 7,000 additional non-U.S. troops. European and other diplomats have said that number is probably optimistic."
As we try to count the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, don't forget the
thousands of non-combat deployments, including medical, MPs, engineers and intelligence personnel sent there.
GovSpot.com has listed these resources:- iCasualties
"Updated daily, this site is incredibly comprehensive and organized. First divided into the categories 'deaths,' 'missing or captured' and 'wounded,' it then provides data by month, country, military force and more. The site also features a newswire. And that's just the home page. Go to the tabs at the top to look at more specialized statistics, ranging from ethnicity to gender to journalist deaths."
- Washington Post
"The Washington Post's 'Faces of the Fallen' acts as a tribute to the service members who have died in the invasion and war thus far. Click on a face to view the person's hometown, age, unit, details about the incident and related links. You can view by age, year of death, home state and military branch."
- CNN
"View by date or name to read the details of every casualty of Operation Enduring Freedom (count updated daily)."
- Wall Street Journal
"Choose a year to see a monthly tally of the military toll since 2001."
- CNN: Year-by-year highlights of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan
- BBC News: Timeline of Afghanistan
"Chronological timeline of the country, starting in 1919 when Afghanistan gains independence after third war against Britain and ending with the Aug. 20, 2009, elections."
- PBS: Historical and political timeline
"Begins with a brief history of Afghanistan and then broken up into periods from 1921 up until Obama's March 2009 plan."
- Telegraph: British involvement timeline
"A basic timeline of Britain's participation, beginning in October 2001."
- Council on Foreign Relations: U.S. involvement timeline
"An extensive, up-to-date and interactive timeline of the U.S. war in Afghanistan with corresponding photos."
Additional resources:
