Soldiers missing in Afghanistan...which is also a dangerous morass

Ever since a US chopper was shot down in Afghanistan earlier this week, the military has been extremely vague with details. It's also slowly becoming clearer that the war in Afghanistan is starging to really rage.

We know that 16 people on the chopper were killed. Now, it appears that other members of the military, who the chopper were trying to help out, are missing too. And, the bad news is that one or more may have been captured:

U.S. forces desperately scoured rugged Afghan mountains Friday for an elite American military team missing in the same area where a U.S. helicopter was shot down.

A purported Taliban spokesman claimed militants captured one of the men....The loss of the American military team in the remote eastern mountains worsened the already stinging blow suffered by the U.S. military after 16 troops were killed Tuesday aboard the MH-47 Chinook chopper.

The situation in Afghanistan has gotten very, very ugly lately:

The loss of the helicopter follows three months of unprecedented fighting that has killed about 477 suspected insurgents, 47 Afghan police and soldiers, 134 civilians, and 45 U.S. troops.

Couldn't finish the job there. Oh no, we had to invade Iraq.

Just saw that AP also has a new article, "Afghanistan Progress In Danger of Unraveling,":

Afghanistan was held up as an example of U.S.-led nation-building just three months ago. But that optimism has succumbed to near-daily ambushes, bombings, execution-style killings and this week's downing of a U.S. military helicopter

From U.S. and U.N. officials to Afghan villagers, fear is growing that this country may be at a seminal moment - with the barrage of violence in danger of overwhelming three years of state-building.

Great.