Beginning in 2009, troops deaths in Afghanistan spiked, coinciding, of course, with Barack Obama’s term as commander in chief. Unfortunately, as Obama called for a troop “surge” in Afghanistan, he also insisted on tighter rules of engagement that hindered our troops’ ability to fight back. According to retired U.S. intelligence office Wayne Simmons, who worked at NATO headquarter in Kabul at the time, our troops paid the price in blood. “In Afghanistan, the [rules of engagement] that were put in place in 2009 and 2010 have created hesitation and confusion for our war fighters,” Simmons says. “It is no accident nor a coincidence that from January 2009 to August of 2010, coinciding with the Obama/McChrystal radical change of the [rules of engagement], casualties more than doubled.” He concludes, “The carnage will certainly continue as the already fragile and ineffective [rules] have been further weakened by the Obama administration as if they were playground rules.”