August 2, 2007: Canada has suffered, proportionately, twice as many dead (66) in Afghanistan as the United States 350) because the U.S. has ten times as many troops there than does Canada (2,500). The U.S. also has ten times the population of Canada, so the Canadians are making the same scale of effort, but suffering more losses in the process. During the past six months, Canada has suffered a third of its total Afghanistan casualties, and 81 percent of them have been from IEDs (roadside bombs). The Taliban has been deliberately targeting the Canadians believing that anti-war political groups back home could be strengthened, and Canadian troops withdrawn, if enough casualties were inflicted. Since the Taliban can't cope with Canadian troops in head-to-head combat, they have devoted much of their roadside bombing effort against the Canadians.