CHANGE: Obama administration warns public to expect rise in US casualties

• US forces to step up operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Pakistani president tells US ambassador strikes 'do not help war on terror'

Against a background of widespread protests in Pakistan and Afghanistan over US operations since Obama became president, the vice-president, Joe Biden, said yesterday that US forces would be engaged in many more operations as the US takes the fight to its enemies in the region.

The Obama administration is to double the number of US troops in Afghanistan to 60,000 and when asked in a television interview if the US public should expect more American casualties, Biden said: "I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be. There will be an uptick."

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/25/obama-airstrikes-pakistan