One of the crashes took place as a helicopter carrying U.S. military and DEA agents was leaving the scene of a recent drug raid. Afghanistan has become the world’s leading producer of Opium, which is the primary ingredient in heroin and many other less popular narcotics. Raids on drug growing and distribution facilities are becoming increasingly common as the U.S. and NATO forces try to develop strategies for battling the Taliban and the al Qaeda presence in the area.
A second crash is believed to have involved a mid-air collision of two military helicopters during a time when neither was engaged with the enemy. The deaths on both crashes bring the U.S. death toll in Afghanistan to 267 for the year, which is more than half of the total of 435 coalition personnel who have been killed on the year.
As President Barack Obama considers the next move in Afghanistan, the country awaits a run-off to determine its new president. Of course, the majority of the people in the country probably don’t care too much about who is holding political office, since all of the power on the ground is controlled by either the Taliban or the coalition military forces who are hunting the Taliban. In either instance, the identity of the elected president of the country doesn’t really impact their daily lives.
As decisions are made about the course of action in Afghanistan, the Obama administration’s vision for its foreign policy will begin to take shape. Iraq was a mess, but the U.S. seems to be easing its way out without drawing too much attention to itself. Afghanistan is the quagmire that the U.S. may never be able to leave, without international humiliation and an even more damning lack of credibility.
