Summary: July 2010 has become the deadliest month of the nearly 9-year-old Afghanistan war for U.S. forces, surpassing the previous record of 60, set in in June 2010. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on July 31, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that bombs exploded near five Shiite mosques in Baghdad, killing at least 29 people, in an apparent coordinated attack that targeted worshippers leaving Friday prayers.

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Summary: The U.S. has often overestimated the ability of Afghan military and police units to fight on their own, according to an independent report that calls into question the strategy to win the war and bring troops home. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 28, 2009 Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly summary of security incidents in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom).

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Summary: President Barack Obama is holding an uncertain hand in his high-stakes gamble in the fight against Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Weak partners in both countries, doubts about the speed of building up Afghan security forces, and allies reluctant to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the battle all raise questions about the strategy. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 2, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that President George W. Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was flawed intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, telling ABC World News in an interview airing December 1, 2008 that he was unprepared for war when he took office.

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Summary: President Barack Obama’s address to the nation outlining his strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., December 1, 2009.

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Summary: The father of Army Spc. Stephan Mace, killed in action near Kamdesh, northeast Afghanistan, when several hundred Taliban fighters armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked and nearly overran Combat Outpost Keating, says the U.S. is “fighting a war with too few people” and that the troops at Kamdesh were “sitting ducks.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the first day after announcing a write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman featured former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s stinging rebuke of Bachmann for alleging Barack Obama “may hold anti-American views” and suggesting that the media investigate which members of Congress are “pro-America or anti-America.” Immelman also reported on halting progress in the U.S.-Iraq status-of-forces agreement, ongoing violence in Iraq, and escalating violence in Afghanistan.

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Summary: Calling for more international troops, Afghanistan’s defense minister says thousands of foreign fighters are pouring into Afghanistan to bolster the Taliban insurgency. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 31st day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported that a pending National Intelligence Estimate will conclude that Afghanistan is in a downward spiral and that U.S. intelligence agencies doubt that the Kabul government has the ability to stem the rise of the Taliban, citing widespread corruption inside President Hamid Karzai’s government, an increase in attacks by militants operating out of Pakistan, and a general breakdown of central government authority in Afghanistan.

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Summary: Speaking at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh on a day the Pentagon announced five more American deaths in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said he understands that Americans are tiring of the war in Afghanistan and that he is examining whether the U.S. is pursuing the right strategy there. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 16th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on a speech at the United Nations by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in which he decried civilian casualties in his country from foreign bombing raids, telling world leaders that innocent deaths can seriously hurt legitimate efforts to fight terrorism. Immelman also reported on continuing violence in Iraq and threats by militants in Pakistan to escalate the violence in that country if Pakistan did not cease cooperating with the United States.

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Summary: Cheered wildly by U.S. troops, President Barack Obama flew unannounced into Iraq and promptly declared it is time for Iraqis to “take responsibility for their country” after America’s commitment of six years and thousands of lives.

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Summary: Iraq has denied North Carolina-based Blackwater Worldwide, which guards American diplomats in Iraq, an operating license because of a deadly shooting spree in Baghdad. Iraqi officials said the lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead led to its decision. The shooting strained relations between Washington and Baghdad and fueled the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, where many Iraqis saw the bloodshed as a demonstration of American brutality and arrogance.

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