Report: Afghan Violence up nearly 90 percent in last year

Unless you consider the cornering of the opium and hashish markets in a country where these crops were banned prior to our invasion a "victory", there's no other conclusion to draw in Afghanistan except that the war is lost. This is common sense when you consider that all war is a racket, and there is no profit margin in "victory".

CNN -



Violence in Afghanistan is up nearly 90 percent from this time last year, according to a new Pentagon report submitted to Congress Wednesday.

Despite that increase and a 240 percent spike in roadside bomb attacks - a major factor in overall violence statistics - and increasing Taliban tactics to discredit President Hamid Karzai's government with shadow governments, some officials said they are seeing encouraging trends.

"We have the beginnings of the potential for real change," said a senior U.S. defense official who is closely involved with the Obama administration's Afghanistan strategy. The additional troops ordered by President Barack Obama, the official said, "have begun to have some impact on reducing the Taliban's ability to operate."

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