logo

November war roundup

image
Created: 01 December, 2010
Updated: 13 October, 2022
2 min read

Here's a brief summary of war-related operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and the Korean Peninsula:

Afghanistan- 51 U.S. soldiers died, making it the bloodiest November since the conflict commenced in 2001.  The previous November record was 18, set last year.  Military operations ended up costing an additional $10 billion for the month.  Also, two polls revealed somewhat contradictory results regarding public sentiment.  In a Quinnipiac poll, 33% of Democrats, 40% of Independents, and 64% of Republicans favored a continuation of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.  In a Gallup poll, 54% said things are going badly, although 45% said things are going well, which proved to be the highest level of optimisim in a year and a half.  Passing a milestone, the U.S. has now occupied Afghanistan for a longer period of time than the Soviet Union's nearly ten-year long tenure during the 1980s.  Finally, the Obama administration is now emphasizing a more significant U.S. withdrawal by the end of 2014, instead of the original mid-2011 deadline in which U.S. combat forces were to begin handing over major security operations to Afghan forces.

Iraq- 2 U.S. soldiers died, with one being a direct result of combat operations.  Military operations ended up costing an additional $4 billion for the month.  A new government has loosely formed after an eight-month stalemate, and widespread violence continues to take a devastating toll on the nation's minority Christian community, 1/2 to 2/3 of which has fled the nation since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. 

Pakistan- Drone attacks targeting suspected militants continued at a steady pace, and after much negotiation, the U.S. is now able to expand CIA operations in Quetta, a suspected hotbed of militants.  Suicide bombings increased inside the nation, and though budgetary figures are not available, the US likely spent millions on military-related operations.

Yemen- The Obama administration intensified military preparations and operations inside Yemen, inserting additional drones and pushing to allow special forces personnel to operate from a growing number of forward bases.  Yemen-based Al Qaeda also claimed that it was utilizing low-budget operations to "bleed the enemy to death" with a strategy of "a thousand cuts".

Korean Peninsula- After North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island, tensions escalated as the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier into the Yellow Sea as a show of force.  With 30,000 U.S troops standing between North and South Korea, any major conflict between the two nations would likely pull America into an all-out regional war.  However, as of late, tensions have slightly eased as China, Russia, South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. work toward a diplomatic solution.

Latest articles

Harry Kresky
Harry Kresky: An Independent Hero
The independent reform movement has lost a champion, but his work is sure to live on. Harry Kresky, ...
18 March, 2024
-
2 min read
Krist Novoselic
Smells Like Independent Spirit: Nirvana's Krist Novoselic and the Fight for Better Elections
Former presidential candidate and co-founder of the Forward Party Andrew Yang sat down with Nirvana co-founder Krist Novoselic, who went from changing the status quo in music to bringing that independent spirit to the political arena and the fight for better elections....
18 March, 2024
-
1 min read
vote
It's Time to Let All Voters Vote in South Dakota's Taxpayer-Funded Primaries
Unfortunately, the upcoming 2024 South Dakota primary election promises more of the same for our state....
15 March, 2024
-
5 min read
TikTok
TikTok Has No Place in the Two-Party Duopoly
The US House of Representatives voted 352-65 Wednesday in favor of a bill (HR 7521) that would ban TikTok, a social media app used by approximately 170 million Americans, if Chinese tech company ByteDance refuses to divest from it....
13 March, 2024
-
7 min read
make every vote count
Report: 6-in-10 New Voters Register Unaffiliated in States that Suppress Independent Voters
Mounting research continues to show the real truth behind independent voter suppression in several states across the US....
12 March, 2024
-
3 min read
voter at polls
17% More Votes Count Under Ranked Choice Voting, Study Finds
A new study analyzing all single-winner ranked choice voting (RCV) elections since 2004 reveals a significant increase in meaningful votes and representation in elections under RCV....
12 March, 2024
-
2 min read