74% of U.S. Afghan Casualties Came After Obama Ordered Troops Increased and tightened rules of engagement.

74% of U.S. Afghan Casualties Came After Obama Ordered Troops Increased and tightened rules of engagement.(CNS News).

Seventy-four percent of the U.S. military personnel who have given their lives serving in the Afghan War died after Feb. 17, 2009, when President Barack Obama announced his first increase in the number of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan, according to CNSNews.com’s database of U.S. casualties in the war.

In the more than twelve years that have passed since U.S. troops first entered Afghanistan with the aim of removing al Qaeda from its sanctuary there, 2,162 U.S. service personnel have given their lives in and around Afghanistan in support of U.S. military activities in that country.

1,593 of those 2,162 U.S. casualties—or 73.7 percent—have occurred since Feb. 17, 2009, when Obama announced the first of his multiple increases in U.S. military personnel deployed to Afghanistan.

“To meet urgent security needs, I approved a request from Secretary Gates to deploy a Marine Expeditionary Brigade later this spring and an Army Stryker Brigade and the enabling forces necessary to support them later this summer,” Obama said on Feb. 17, 2009.

“This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires,” said Obama.Hmmm......Messieurs les Angla; tirez les premiers .Read the full story here.

Related:

Tighter rules of engagement contributed to US casualty rate in Afghanistan – report

Soldiers: Obama's Rules Of Engagement Costing U.S. Lives in Afghanistan

Turkey ‘fully transparent’ regarding rules of engagement: US State Department.

Turkey ‘fully transparent’ regarding rules of engagement: US State Department.(HD)

Turkey has been “fully transparent” about the rules of engagement in its military stance against Syria, the U.S. State Department said Sept. 17, a day after the Turkish army downed a Syrian helicopter violating its airspace.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said the United States had remained in close contact with Turkish officials after the incident.

“We note that the Turkish government has been fully transparent about the rules of engagement it is operating under since the Syrian government shot down a Turkish aircraft last year,” Psaki told reporters referring to the Turkish F-4 Phantom warplane crashed into the Mediterranean on June 22, 2012, after being shot down by Syria.

Psaki said the helicopter was shot down after violating Turkish airspace and ignoring warnings transmitted by Turkish officials.

The State Department spokesperson also emphasized that as a member of NATO, Washington was committed to Turkey’s defense.

“Turkey is a friend and NATO ally, and we are committed to Turkey’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Psaki said.

Shortly earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said the army was instructed to act according to the rules of engagement in case of a border violation. 

“When the warnings were not heeded, the Turkish Armed Forces executed the rules of engagement and did what was necessary,” he told reporters during a press conference in Ankara with Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had also invoked the rules of engagement, adding that the army had performed “a punitive action” for the border violation.Hmmm......“a punitive action” does this mean 'beheading the Syrian pilot' as well?