NATO’s International Security Assistance Force assumed command from coalition forces in southern Afghanistan Monday, continuing a process that began with the establishment of the force in Kabul in August 2003. As of August 4, 2006, at least 262 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. Of those, the military reports 161 were killed by hostile action. Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 56 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, two are the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, Djibouti, Eritrea, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Yemen. There was also one military civilian death and four CIA officer deaths. The NATO forces operating in Regional Command South come from Australia, Britain, Canada, Estonia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Romania and the United States. They have been flowing into the south for several months, preparing for the transfer of authority. When fully deployed, the force will total about 8,000 troops in the […]