By Anthony Gregory

October has been the bloodiest month of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Fifty-five have been killed in the course of the U.S. occupation this month. This is a staggering drain on American blood and treasure. There was a time when this many American soldiers, dying in a foreign country in just one month, would have been considered most significant. It is quite a testament to the country’s imperial mentality that such a death count is ignored, while an empty balloon, thought to have a child in it, falling safely to the ground, is watched by 20 million Americans.