A grim new milestone was reached in the US occupation of Afghanistan this week, as the death toll in less than three years under President Obama has now more than doubled the number of US soldiers slain during President Bush’s seven plus years in the nation.

The figures put the US death toll at 575 during Bush’s era in Afghanistan, but with the repeated escalations of President Obama 1,153 troops have already died in just 33 months, with no end in sight.

Indeed, the 33 months haven’t seen a flat rate of deaths for US soldiers either, but have been increasing since President Obama took over, with 2009 more than double the rate of the last year for President Bush, and 2010 dramatically higher still. 2011, though still in progress, looks to be much worse than 2009, suggesting the momentum is worsening.

Despite extremely ugly metrics, the Obama Administration has continued to insist that the war is going quite well by their estimation, today saying the Taliban’s inability to destroy a hydroelectric dam in the Helmand Province proved their “weakness.”