On August 30, Gen. Stanley McChrystal sent Defense Secretary Robert Gates a war assessment in which he said more U.S. troops — and a new U.S. strategy — are needed if the U.S. is to defeat the insurgents in Afghanistan.

Since that Aug. 30 date, a total of 43 [51] soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have died in a war that is now the subject of much discussion — and apparently some confusion — in Washington [all but lost].