It sounds like things in Afghanistan are going to get a lot worse before they get better. Joint Chief of Staffs chairman Mike Mullen told the House Armed Services Committee today he expects the violence in Afghanistan to top last year's record levels, in which almost 500 American troops lost their lives, according to Reuters. Mullen told the committee:
Military experts attribute the spike in violence to the 2009 increase of 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, which amplified the fight against the Taliban. In the same hearing, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he's supportive of plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan:
More than 2,300 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan since the fight there began in 2001.
