Afghanistan: 14 U.S. Troops Killed

There is horrible news out of Afghanistan.

The Associated Press is reporting that 14 American troops died on Monday in helicopter crashes.

Two helicopters collided Monday in southern Afghanistan, killing four American troops and injuring two, as a third U.S. helicopter crashed in a separate incident in the west, killing 10 Americans, the military said.

It was unclear what caused the collision in the south. U.S. military spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said the military had ruled out hostile fire but he did not have any other details. He said the injured had been evacuated to hospitals inside Afghanistan.

The third helicopter went down during an operation by Afghan and international forces in which a dozen militants were killed, the military said. It said the crash happened in western Afghanistan without giving a more precise location.

Mathias said hostile fire or other insurgent activity was not believed to be the cause, but they were still looking into all possibilities. Troops from the U.S., other NATO countries and Afghanistan were on board the helicopter, she said, adding that a recovery operation was under way.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmedi claimed Taliban forces shot down the helicopter in Badghis province's Darabam district. Badghis is in the northwest of the country. It was impossible to verify the claim.

This has been the deadliest year for international and U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban. Fighting spiked around the presidential vote in August, and 51 U.S. soldiers died that month — the deadliest for American forces in the eight-year war.

More than 30 American troops have died so far in October.

The deaths come as U.S. officials debate whether to send tens of thousands more troops to the country and the Afghan government scrambles to organize a Nov. 7 runoff election between President Hamid Karzai and his top challenger from an August vote that was sullied by massive ballot-rigging.

God be with the loved ones of the fallen.

It really bothers me that Obama is running off campaigning and fundraising rather than tending to matters of war.

Afghanistan should not be on the back burner, but Obama hasn't made time to speak with his handpicked commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, on a regular basis.

Inexcusable.

Obama, the commander in chief who hesitates to issue commands, has to formulate a strategy. He has to decide what to do.

I don't think Obama should be spending time campaigning and holding fundraisers before he deals with Afghanistan. He has to take responsibility and show resolve.

The war has grown deadlier since Obama took office. He must act. It's his war now.

...Meanwhile, security forces in Kabul fired automatic rifles into the air for a second day Monday to contain hundreds of stone-throwing university students angered over the alleged desecration of a Muslim holy book, the Quran, by U.S. troops during an operation two weeks ago in Wardak province. Firetrucks were also brought in to push back protesters with water cannons. Police said several officers were injured in the mayhem.

U.S. and Afghan authorities have denied any such desecration and insist that the Taliban are spreading the rumor to stir up public anger. The rumor has sparked similar protests in Wardak and Khost provinces.

On Sunday, the students in the capital burned Obama in effigy and chanted slogans such as "down with Americans, down with Israel" as they marched from Kabul University to the parliament building, where riot police turned them back.

Students in Kabul burned Obama in effigy and chanted slogans such as "down with Americans, down with Israel"?

OBAMA?

That can't be.

The world loves Obama.

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are hated. They're the ones who are supposed to be burned in effigy, not the beloved, global citizen, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Obama.

Obama already has the prize. Now he needs to figure out a way to get the peace.