Deaths of U. S. Troops in Iraq & Afghanistan Wars - 5,199

A view of Afghanistan

Here are recent photos taken in Afghanistan - they give us a small idea of the what the location looks like and what the U.S. troops are doing there.

Hell on Earth


Like many of his contemporaries, American Peter van Agtmael felt compelled to cover the U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter what war may mean to the soldiers, civilians and politicians caught up in its fury, for photojournalists it has always offered an opportunity to make great pictures. Yet as soon as he began his work, van Agtmael discovered that "the labels that had heretofore defined my perceptions of the world became meaningless ... A lot of my ideas proved to be misconceived, and I began wondering why they had become beliefs at all — why there weren't more answers, or why there were so many." In the photograph above, a supply helicopter lands at the Ranch House, a small U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan.

The Sky Over Afghanistan


"I wish these pictures could convey more of what I experienced," van Agtmael writes. "They are harsh, despite the fact that I have great affection for many of the soldiers that I met as an embedded photographer. There is much that is left out, but I see no reason to romanticize war any more than it has been and always will be. If I found any truth in war, I found that in the end everyone

Grave
Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery

is reserved for casualties of the wars in Afghanistan , ready and waiting.

photos and captions by photographer Peter van Agtmael

*****

American Military Casualties in Iraq

Since war began (3/19/03): 4346

American Wounded 31513

Latest Fatality Sept. 29, 2009

320,000 Vets Have Brain Injuries

Estimated 18 Vet Suicides Per Day

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 853

Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan 572

Total U.S. Troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan Wars - 5,199

More than one million Iraqis have been killed.

If these figures concern you please speak out against the wars and contact your political representatives and the President of the United States - express your concerns and ask them to end the wars now.

Please!