AFGHANISTAN OFFENSIVE - AT 8:12 A.M. ET:  A Marine offensive in Afghanistan is being reported as a major military move, and possibly a foretaste of things to come.  From Fox:

DAHANEH, Afghanistan — Helicopter-borne U.S. Marines backed by Harrier jets stormed into a Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan before dawn Wednesday and exchanged heavy fire with insurgents, killing at least seven.

Associated Press journalists traveling with the first wave said militants fired small arms, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades after helicopters dropped the troops over Taliban lines. Fighting lasted more than eight hours, as Harrier jets streaked overhead and dropped flares in a show of force.

But...

The Taliban put up such fierce resistance that Marines said they suspected the militants knew the assault was coming.

That is bad, and part of the problem over there:  Some of the "good guys" we're working with are probably bad guys. 

And the reality:

Casualties have mounted as U.S. and NATO troops ramp up military operations following President Barack Obama's decision to deploy 21,000 more American forces to Afghanistan this year to cope with the rising Taliban insurgency.

Last month, U.S. and NATO deaths from roadside and suicide bomb blasts in Afghanistan soared six-fold compared with the same month last year, as militants detonated the highest number of bombs of the eight-year war, according to figures released Tuesday.

COMMENT:  You'll notice the lack of interest in casualties in Afghanistan in our mainstream media.  Compare please with the hysteria and hatred that erupted when we suffered casualties in Iraq, when the president was BUSH (!!).

August 12, 2009