There’s a reason that I do not do much analysis on the war in Afghanistan. The losses by American and allied troops are fairly accurate but the enemy losses are vastly underreported. The graph above reflects the reports I have been able to document. Keep in mind that NATO does not, as a matter of policy, report enemy deaths and NATO is in command of the overall operation incountry.
The United States is averaging about 5.8 combat deaths a month in Afghanistan. Contrast that with months where the enemy is reported to have lost 200 or 300. For September 2007, so far we have lost two soldiers and there have been 366 enemy deaths reported.
Because we are losing so few soldiers and because the reporting of enemy losses is so spotty, analysis is next to useless. We are killing a vast number of enemy in Afghanistan at little cost to our own. That is the best statement that I can make.
