The number of foreign troops to die this year in Afghanistan has reached 600, by far the highest annual toll in nine years of war despite tentative reconciliation efforts with the Taliban.
The milestone was reached after a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announcement that a soldier had been killed in an insurgent attack in the east on Sunday.
As we enter the month of Av we intensify our traditional mourning for the Holy Temple, but are we really in touch with what we are mourning for? Are we ready...