“The news from Afghanistan lately has been grim. The deployment of another 100 American troops to counter a Taliban offensive in Helmand province. A U.S. soldier was killed in action – the second this year – by an IED in Helmand on Tuesday. A catastrophic attack on the American University in Kabul that killed 13 people.   Yet top U.S. officials say the 15-year-old mission to stabilize the poor and fractured country is progressing as well as can be expected. “

Source: U.S. drawdown on track, despite spate of violence in Afghanistan