More civilians killed by military forces than Taliban

As President Barack Obama announced the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. the Associated Press reported that more Afghan civilians are dying in U.S. and allied operations than at the hands of the Taliban. In the first two months of the year, U.S., NATO or Afghan forces have killed at least 100 civilians, while militants have killed 60. Meanwhile, U.S. deaths in Afghanistan increased threefold during the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, after thousands more troops deployed. Twenty-nine U.S. troops died in Afghanistan the first two months of 2009–compared with eight Americans in the first two months of 2008. At the same time, a new report prepared by the Pentagon paints a grim picture of spiraling violence and a disintegrating society in the country. Direct attacks on the Afghan government more than doubled last year, while there was a 50 percent increase in kidnappings and assassinations. Fatalities among Western forces went up by 35 percent while the civilian death toll climbed by 46 percent. Violent attacks were up by a third and roadside bombings, the most lethal source of Western casualties, by a quarter. The report also reveals how swathes of the country have slipped out of the control of President Hamid Karzai's government. According to a poll taken towards the end of last year, a third of the population stated that the Taliban had more influence in their locality.