Roadside Bombs Haunt Afghanistan

Last year, 3,276 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were detonated or detected in Afghanistan, a 45 percent increase over 2007 and new record, USA Today reports. The uptick in roadside bombs more than doubled the number of deaths of US-led coalition troops, from 75 to a record 161. The bombs wounded an additional 722 coalition troops in yet another grim record. The insurgency in Afghanistan is alive and kicking. As an analyst from the Bookings Institute put it, “We’re losing the war.” Army Gen. David McKiernan, the top troop commander in Afghanistan has asked to almost double the US forces in the region to 60,000 troops, even as Obama has pledged to devote more resources to the region.