Rick Barton quoted by the LA Times | Biden expects more U.S. casualties in Afghanistan

Flikr photo by Army.mil used under a Creative Commons License.   On January 26, the Los Angeles Times quoted Rick Barton in a longer article on Vice President Biden’s expectations for U.S. casualties in Afghanistan:

Frederick Barton, an expert on post-conflict reconstruction at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the challenge Obama faces is to clearly define the U.S. mission in Afghanistan -- particularly if casualties rise.

There have been more than 600 U.S. troop fatalities since 2001, according to the independent website icasualties.org. That is far fewer than the thousands who have died in Iraq, but the numbers have already started to grow -- with 155 deaths in 2008 and already 11 deaths in the first days of this year.

The American people will get very impatient unless the goal is absolutely clear," said Barton, who was an advisor to Obama's transition team on foreign aid issues.

Barton said that the added troops might initially produce greater casualties, but that by moving more aggressively into local communities they could head off efforts by the Taliban to gain greater control -- thereby ultimately reducing casualties among U.S. forces and their allies.

There has to be a reestablishment of a new authority or we're really talking about a really divided country," Barton said.