Thursday, May 20, 2010
Richard Tieman, killed in Afghanistan May 18, 2010, age 28
American troops are dying faster, and younger, than ever in Afghanistan. The official death toll in the war for the United States recently passed 1,000, following a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed five service personnel.
It took the U.S. almost seven years to suffer its first 500 deaths in Afghanistan. The second 500 came in less than two. In each of the first five months of 2010, the U.S. death toll was the highest for that month since the United States invaded Afghanistan more than 8½ years ago. For example, the 20 Americans killed in April 2010 matched the combined total of American dead for the previous four Aprils combined. Because the deadliest months of fighting in Afghanistan tend to be June through October, Americans should brace themselves for even more reports of fatalities in the next few months.
Also, the average age of those killed has been dropping, from about 28 (from 2002-2008) to 25 this year.
-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff
Grim Milestone: 1,000 Americans Dead (by James Dao and Andrew Lehren, New York Times)
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