A new UN report has found that “Afghanistan is currently suffering its most violent year since the 2001 U.S.-led intervention” a conclusion “that sharply contrasts with recent upbeat appraisals by President Bush and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.”

The U.N.’s Half-Year Review of the Security Situation in Afghanistan underscored the continuing resurgence of the Taliban, which many experts attribute to Bush’s decision to shift troops and resources to Iraq, the U.S. failure to capture the militia’s top leaders, and the refuge the militia has secured in the lawless tribal region of neighboring Pakistan.

As The Body Politik reported on Saturday, over the past year, coalition forces have lost ground in Afghanistan, as the conflict has taken a back seat to the war in Iraq. In fact, the White House website omits Afghanistan from its 18 “In-Focus” items and Bush rarely mentions Afghanistan in his public addresses and press conferences.

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