U.S. Army soldiers search for roadside bombs on route Dodge in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2011. The soldiers are assigned to 101st Airborne Division's Company A, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team. Route Dodge is a nickname used by soldiers to identify this section of dirt road. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Zachary BurkeIED Toll In Afghanistan Reduced By 37 Percent -- Navy Times
More eyes on ground, in skies locate bombs.
The military has reduced the number of troops wounded or killed by homemade bombs in Afghanistan by 37 percent since August by improving its ability to find the explosives before they blow up.
About one-sixth of the bombs used by insurgents in January ended up wounding or killing troops, compared with the one-quarter of such bombs that caused casualties in August, according to figures from the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, the Pentagon’s agency for combating makeshift bombs.
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My Comment: The impression that reports like this one gives is that there is forward progress on the ground in Afghanistan .... unfortunately .... the other stats (and current trend lines) do not bear this out.