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Losing the endurance of freedom

Dawn.com Published October 25, 2010
In a picture taken on October 22, 2010 foreigners clean the British Cemetery in Kabul. The names of British military personnel who have died in Afghanistan since 2001 are engraved in clear letters on highly polished stone above personal tributes to fallen comrades, regimental symbols and mottos. Next to them lie the chipped and fading white stone graves of some of the 150 soldiers who died during Britain's last foray into Afghanistan more than a century ago, which ended in defeat and retreat. - Photo by AFP.
In a picture taken on October 22, 2010 foreigners clean the British Cemetery in Kabul. The names of British military personnel who have died in Afghanistan since 2001 are engraved in clear letters on highly polished stone above personal tributes to fallen comrades, regimental symbols and mottos. Next to them lie the chipped and fading white stone graves of some of the 150 soldiers who died during Britain's last foray into Afghanistan more than a century ago, which ended in defeat and retreat. - Photo by AFP.
In this file photo taken on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010, US Army soldiers from Scout Platoon 502 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, carry supplies from a helicopter in Zhari district, Kandahar province. - Photo by AP.
In this file photo taken on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010, US Army soldiers from Scout Platoon 502 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, carry supplies from a helicopter in Zhari district, Kandahar province. - Photo by AP.
In this Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 file photo, an Afghan villager walks among US soldiers at a check point in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. - Photo by AP.
In this Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 file photo, an Afghan villager walks among US soldiers at a check point in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. - Photo by AP.
US Army Medical soldiers assist a wounded Afghan in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010, after he was injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). - Photo by AFP.
US Army Medical soldiers assist a wounded Afghan in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010, after he was injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). - Photo by AFP.
US Army soldiers walk through a field on a patrol as an explosion occurs in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
US Army soldiers walk through a field on a patrol as an explosion occurs in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
A US Army soldier eats before taking part in a patrol in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
A US Army soldier eats before taking part in a patrol in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
US Army soldiers prepare to take part in a patrol in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
US Army soldiers prepare to take part in a patrol in Zari District of Kandahar province on October 23, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
In this photograph taken with the aid of a nightvision scope US Army soldiers rest as they prepare to take part in a patrol in Zari District of Kandahar province late October 22, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
In this photograph taken with the aid of a nightvision scope US Army soldiers rest as they prepare to take part in a patrol in Zari District of Kandahar province late October 22, 2010. - Photo by AFP.
An Afghan boy reacts as a US soldier from L Trp 4/25CR, takes a picture of him during a patrol in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. - Photo by AP.
An Afghan boy reacts as a US soldier from L Trp 4/25CR, takes a picture of him during a patrol in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. - Photo by AP.
US Marines detain an Afghan man they suspect of being a Taliban gunman after their patrol came under fire in the town of Nabuk in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province October 23, 2010. - Photo by Reuters.
US Marines detain an Afghan man they suspect of being a Taliban gunman after their patrol came under fire in the town of Nabuk in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province October 23, 2010. - Photo by Reuters.
US soldier Sergeant Justin Nealey, of L Trp 4/25CR, from Gorham, Maine, pulls security next to Afghan children during a patrol in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. - Photo by AP.
US soldier Sergeant Justin Nealey, of L Trp 4/25CR, from Gorham, Maine, pulls security next to Afghan children during a patrol in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. - Photo by AP.
US soldier CPL Dowling, from L Trp 4/25CR, looks for possible IED's during a patrol in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. - Photo by AP.
US soldier CPL Dowling, from L Trp 4/25CR, looks for possible IED's during a patrol in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. - Photo by AP.
A US soldier from L Trp 4/25CR, patrols among villagers outskirts of Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010. - Photo by AP.
A US soldier from L Trp 4/25CR, patrols among villagers outskirts of Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010. - Photo by AP.
US Marines from the First Battalion Eighth Marines Alpha Company receive a long-awaited mail shipment to their remote combat outpost near the town of Kunjak in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province October 24, 2010. - Photo by Reuters.
US Marines from the First Battalion Eighth Marines Alpha Company receive a long-awaited mail shipment to their remote combat outpost near the town of Kunjak in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province October 24, 2010. - Photo by Reuters.
US soldier 2LT Andrew Gregory, of L Trp 4/25CR, from Ft. Wayne, IN, embraces a dog at a district police station currently occupied by US soldiers and Afghan National Police, Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010. - Photo by AP.
US soldier 2LT Andrew Gregory, of L Trp 4/25CR, from Ft. Wayne, IN, embraces a dog at a district police station currently occupied by US soldiers and Afghan National Police, Kandahar City, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010. - Photo by AP.

Total foreign military deaths in Afghanistan in 2010 neared 600 with the death of another service member on Sunday, an unwelcome figure that will likely weigh heavily on Western leaders amid declining support for the war. The United States has suffered by far the most casualties, with at least 1,348 deaths. British losses total at least 341, with the remaining 480 shared among the other 44 Isaf partners. The US also has the largest number of troops in Afghanistan, nearly 100,000, with other nations contributing roughly 50,000.

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