Yesterday morning, near Kandahar, an IED claimed the lives of three Canadian soldiers. The CF fatality count in Afghanistan has now reached one hundred.

I do not think that this purely psychological milestone will hinder public support for Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. Polling indicates support is already pretty low, and since an exit date has already been decided, I think all sides are just to waiting it out.

As far as any insight into the war in Afghanistan, the following data of how each CF member died shows that IEDs are the most effective weapon for killing Canadian soldiers.

However, considering how many Canadian soldiers have been rotated through that country since 2002, that “effectiveness” is pretty insignificant. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trivializing those that died. Not at all. I am sorry they were killed, and am glad such people are willing to put their lives on the line for the greater peace. My point is that in terms of manpower, we are not doing as bad in Afghanistan as previous wars. IEDs are not as much a threat as they are made out to be. Nevertheless, I am sure the CF (and the US in Iraq) would greatly appreciate a breakthrough in anti-IED tactics. A good area to get into if you are a modern war theorist.

Lastly, since Canada is only one of many in Afghanistan, here are the latest fatality stats by country from iCasualties.org:

UNdata is a helpful site for anyone out there needing various world statistics. I am glad the UN makes it so easy to access this data. See more of my research tips here.

Via RWW

Foreign Policy magazine teamed up with the Center for a New American Security and conducted a survey to investigate how US soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines perceive the state of their military.

Some of the findings mirror the general consensus in the media: Iraq is breaking the military; America is not particularly ready for a war with China, Iran or North Korea; etc. 74% thought that the expectations of the civilian leadership were unreasonable. 9 out of 10 thought the surge has increased the potential for victory. Opinions on torture were split fairly evenly. Surprisingly 78% support offering citizenship as a tool for recruitment. Unsurprisingly improving intelligence is thought to be the number one thing needed to win the war on terror.

The survey is very in depth. Check it out in entirety including its methodology at The U.S. Military Index.

In a related note, FP magazine’s blog Passport has recently added a Comments capability. Good luck to Blake, this is probably not going to make his job easier, but it is sure to make Passport better.

Brilliant design work combining statistical information with national flags:

China

European Union

America

Burkina Faso

See them all. Via Blake@Passport