Questions about the 160th SOAR crash

Instapundit links to a Popular Mechanics article asking some pretty interesting questions about the loss of the helicopter carrying member of the US 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), which included some 20 members of the Navy's SEAL Team 6, the guys who killed Usama bin Laden.  The most important question, as I see it:

Will special forces be put in greater danger during the drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan?

Special Forces are expected to keep the pressure on the Taliban, working closely with Afghan forces to maintain control as U.S and Coalition troops depart. That means more raids, more targets and more reliance on Afghan competence—all of which add up to more special forces casualties.

This incident could be a sign of things to come: The crash happened in Tanji, where the U.S. closed a combat outpost in April. However, the AP has reported, the Afghan forces never staffed the outpost after American forces left, and the Taliban moved back in. That left it to Navy SEALs to undertake a dangerous raid in a notorious insurgent area to stem the Taliban's advance. As more responsibilities fall on the shoulders of special forces, the risk of more losses like this one will continue to increase.

Indeed.  When you announce you are withdrawing from a war zone without having the area secured or victory achieved, you are inviting such attacks on your troops.

Which is why smart people never do such things. 

And, yet, Barack Obama very intentionally did so.