3 NATO troops killed in southern Afghanistan

By Heidi Vogt, Associated Press Writer –

Mon Aug 24, 2009, 12:32 pm ET

KABUL –

Three NATO troops — two from Estonia and one from the United States — were killed in attacks in southern Afghanistan as fraud charges continued to pour in Monday from last week's turbulent presidential vote.

On Monday night, NATO jets fired on targets near the airport in the southern city of Kandahar, which also serves as major NATO base. Witnesses reported seeing a half dozen aircraft firing at targets to the southwest of the main runway.

The American service member died in a Taliban attack Sunday, the U.S. military said without providing details. Estonia's Defense Ministry said two soldiers were killed after their unit stumbled on a roadside bomb in southern Helmand province.

It was the 37th death for the U.S. military in Afghanistan since the beginning of August, a month that has seen a jump in attacks and violence as the country prepared for its second-ever direct presidential election last week.

U.S. commanders predicted a deadly summer after President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to turn the tide against a resurgent Taliban and shift the focus in the fight against Islamist extremism from Iraq.

July was the deadliest month for American forces in Afghanistan since the beginning of the conflict, with 44 dead. Estonia has 289 soldiers in Afghanistan and the recent deaths mean the small European country has lost six soldiers there.

With the security situation in Afghanistan appearing increasingly difficult, many are suggesting that U.S. commanders may request thousands more troops.

On Sunday, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the situation in Afghanistan as "serious and deteriorating," but refused to say whether additional forces would be needed.

"Afghanistan is very vulnerable in terms of (the) Taliban and extremists taking over again, and I don't think that threat's going to go away," he said on CNN's "State of the Union."

U.S. Commanders Call for More Troops to Defeat Taliban in Afghanistan

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/africa/july-dec09/afghanistan_08-24.html

Online News Hour, Aug 24, 2009

As Taliban fighters refine their tactics, U.S. and NATO commanders told U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke that they require more troops to combat militants in Afghanistan.

Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, visited all four regional commanders in Afghanistan. During his discussions, they told him that even with the boost in American and NATO forces, they still need more.

President Obama has redirected American resources from Iraq to Afghanistan as the war there nears its eight-year anniversary.

Speaking to reporters in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan over the weekend, Holbrooke said a new strategy would reach out to Taliban fighters to encourage them to put down their arms.

"Anyone who renounces al-Qaida and comes back to work peacefully in the Afghan system will be welcome," Holbrooke said, according to the New York Times.

The commanders expressed concern about the increasing insurgencies in the eastern part of the country. Much of the focus has centered on the fight in the south, but now many U.S. officials say attention should turn toward the mountainous eastern region where Jalaluddin Haqqani's network of insurgents is expanding its reach.

The commander of forces in eastern Afghanistan U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said that Haqqani "is the central threat" in the east, according to the Los Angeles Times.

On Sunday, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said the situation in Afghanistan is getting worse even with the recent troop increases.

"I think it is serious and it is deteriorating, and I've said that over the past couple of years -- that the Taliban (resistance) has gotten better, more sophisticated, in their tactics," Mullen said on CNN's "State of the Union" program.

Mullen did not say whether additional troops would be required.

As the situation on the ground deteriorates, public support among Americans is declining with a majority saying the war is not worth fighting, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll.

President Obama plans to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 68,000 by the end of the year, compared to 32,000 at the end of 2008. U.S. deaths there have risen to record numbers with 44 reported in July.

The new commander of U.S. and NATO forces, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, is assessing the situation in Afghanistan and plans to submit a report in a couple of weeks that will help guide whether the U.S. sends more troops, Mullen said on Sunday.

President Obama's Republican opponent in last year's presidential election also weighed in on the situation over the weekend.

"I think you need to see a reversal of these very alarming and disturbing trends on attacks, casualties and areas of the country that the Taliban has increased control of," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on ABC's "This Week."