Death Toll Mounts as Coalition Forces Confront Taliban

JIM LEHRER:

Next tonight, the escalating war in Afghanistan. Gwen Ifill has that story.

GWEN IFILL:

Two weeks into a renewed U.S. and NATO-led assault in Afghanistan, the coalition is taking heavier casualties than at any point in the eight-year war. The effort, led by U.S. Marines along with British troops, is designed to establish security in regions long held by a resurgent Taliban.

A force of 4,000 Marines and 650 Afghans launched an operation dubbed Strike of the Sword two weeks ago, targeting the strife-torn southern Helmand province.

The new NATO commander, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, has aggressively shifted the focus from hunting and killing the Taliban to protecting the population.

But following several high-profile incidents where U.S. forces killed large numbers of civilians, McChrystal recently released a set of stringent guidelines for the use of force. The document echoed much of what the general told his new command last month.

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, Commander, International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan:

Displaying respect, cultural sensitivity, accountability, and transparency are essential to gaining the support and trust of the Afghan people. If we gain that trust, we cannot lose. If we lose that trust, we cannot win.

GWEN IFILL:

The renewed offensive relies more heavily on Afghan forces — the key to success, President Obama said yesterday — in a fight that he emphasized was important to all coalition members.

BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States: The issue in Afghanistan is not simply an American issue. It is a worldwide issue. And, you know, the vulnerabilities to terrorist attack in Europe are at least as high as they are here in the United States. All of us want to see an effective exit strategy where increasingly the Afghan army, Afghan police, Afghan courts, Afghan government are taking more responsibility for their own security.

GWEN IFILL:

Until now, Afghan forces have been minimally involved in the fight, and the training of Afghan security forces has become a centerpiece of U.S. strategy.

And while the Taliban have largely fled the advancing Marines, they have left behind a deadly array of improvised explosive devices, the makeshift bombs that wreaked havoc on U.S. forces in Iraq.

STAFF SGT. MICHAEL MEDINA, United States Marine Corps:

The most dangerous thing right now is the Taliban putting roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices along with victim-operated pressure plates, which victims step on and they go off. Pretty much, that is our main concern now.

GWEN IFILL:

The bombs and other fighting have exacted a heavy toll on the coalition: 24 Americans and 22 allied troops have been killed just halfway through July. Among the dead are 15 British soldiers.

Eight of the dead returned home yesterday were met by thousands of mourners lining the streets of a small town as the cortege passed. Those deaths, coupled with outrage over questions about adequate equipment, have led to public questioning of the war effort in Great Britain, even as 140 more soldiers were dispatched to join the 9,000 British already in Afghanistan.