Afghan Civilian Death Toll on the Rise

The death toll for Afghan civilians rose 40% last year (2008). In addition to the 1,500 civilians that died in 2007, another 2,100 died in 2008. On both ends of the spectrum this has created speculation. With the tolls rising, Afghanistan is lessening its support for war, and pressuring President Hamid Karzai to do something about it. On the other end, with the decision to deploy more groups, tension is rising for President Barack Obama. The survey, taken by the UN, established that most of these deaths were a result of Taliban trying to hurt American troops (through suicide bombing, attacks, etc.). However nearly a thousand of those civilians were killed by Afghan government troop and American troop-led air strikes. There is speculation of the special Forces from America that are in Afghanistan. Special Forces do not need to report to field commanders, therefore; leading their attacks unknown to anyone. In addition to Special Forces, some comment that the air strikes that killed many people, were usually called in by distressed troops. There are a lot of problems with planned attacks because when they are planned, the civilians are not taken into account. When the attack happens, more civilians die than these forces think. The saddest part is that both sides are trying to fight the Taliban, but all the Taliban want is to see a lot of death. These leaves Afghan civilians scared and on their toes more often than not. The Taliban are set out to kill anyone who has a connection to the Afghan government, including schools. At the end of the UN survey, sum 640 have been closed due to Taliban threats. This leaves almost 230,000 children stripped of education.