AP (excerpts):  Kabul, Afghanistan - A military helicopter was shot down in eastern Afghanistan, killing 31 US special operation troops, most of them from the elite Navy SEALS unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, along with seven Afghan commandos.  It was the deadliest single incident for American forces in the decade-long war.  The Taliban claimed they downed the helicopter with rocket fire while it was taking part in a raid on a house where insurgents were gathered in the province of Wardak late Friday.  It said wreckage of the craft was strewn at the scene.  A senior US administration official in Washington said the craft was apparently shot down by insurgents.  The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the crash is still being investigated.  NATO confirmed the overnight crash took place and that there "was enemy activity in the area," but it said it was still investigating the cause and conducting a recovery operation at the site.  It did not release details or casualty figures.  "We are in the process of accessing the facts," said US Air Force Captain Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman.  Once current and one former US official said that the dead included more than 20 Navy SEALS from SEAL Team 6, the unit that carried out the raid in Pakistan in May that killed bin Laden.  They were being flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.  Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because families are still being notified.  None of those killed in the crash is believed to have been part of the SEALs mission that killed bin Laden, but they were from the same unit as the bin Laden team.  President Barack Obama said in a statement that the crash serves as a reminder of the "extraordinary sacrifices" being made by the US military and its families.  The death toll would surpass the worst single day loss of life for the US-lead coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 - the June 28, 2005 downing of a military helicopter in eastern Kunar province.  In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down, while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban.  Three of the SEALs being rescued were also killed and the fourth wounded.  It was the highest one-day death toll for the Navy Special Warfare personnel since World War II.  With its steep mountain ranges, providing shelter for militants armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eastern Afghanistan is hazardous terrain for military aircraft.  Large, slow-moving transport carriers like the CH-47 Chinook are particularly vulnerable, often forced to ease their way through sheer valleys where insurgents can achieve more level lines of fire from mountainsides.  The helicopter was a twin-rotor Chinook, said an official at NATO headquarters in Brussels.  The official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was receiving his information from an Afghan officer in Kabul.  The crash took place in the Sayd Abad district of Wardak providence, said a provincial government spokesman.  The volatile region borders the province of Kabul where the Afghan capital is located and is known for its strong Taliban presence.  Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that Taliban fighters downed the helicopter during a heavy raid in Sayd Abad.  He said NATO attacked a house in Sayd Abad where insurgent fighters were gathering Friday night.  During the battle, the fighters shot down the helicopter, killing 31 Americans and seven Afghans, he said, adding that eight insurgents were killed in the fight.  There have been at least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan this year.  Most of the crashes were attributed to pilot errors, weather conditions or mechanical failures.  However, the coalition has confirmed that at least one CH-47F Chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade on July 25.  Two coalition crew members were injured in that attack.  With casualties from the helicopter crash, the deaths bring to 365 the number of coalition troops killed this year in Afghanistan and 42 this month.     

Commentary:  These Navy Seals were sabotaged, no doubt about it!  As recently as May, when Navy SEALs killed bin Laden, US officials were questioning whether or not the Afghan government had knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts all along, before our military intelligence forces "found him."  If our officials do not trust the Afghan government, why are our Navy SEALs running around the dangerous territories with Afghan commandos in a helicopter, who are also just as likely to betray our troops, especially the SEALS who killed bin Laden?  Any way you look at it, I say sabotage!  Is Obama so careless with his own security?  I think not!  I noticed that during President Obama's speech, it appeared that he was literally trying hard not to smile.  Our young men keep dying over there, but the troops have not been returned home, as Barack Obama promised during his campaign - another low as you can get, lying politician!  Not only that, one who, I believe, is very capable of betraying our troops!  Now remember, Obama will NOT allow his administration, or any US government official, to say the words "Muslim terrorist!"  How about this, Barack Obama, "Muslim terrorist, Muslim terrorist, Muslim terrorist!!"  He is on the wrong side of this war - and we have no business being there in the first place!  You need only place your own son or daughter in that helicopter to understand where I am coming from.  What are we actually accomplishing there anyway?  Nothing, except losing precious lives!  Why would he even allow the same Navy SEAL Team who killed bin Laden to be there?  Hadn't they risked their lives enough already?  It was absolutely callous to allow them to stay in Afghanistan.  Of course they were targets!  I'm sure it doesn't matter to the Taliban whether they were the same men or not, same men - same team, one is just as good as the other to them.  They know it will devastate this team, this nation either way!  Does Barack Obama care?  No, he actually has much more to be concerned about, like making sure no one says, "Muslim terrorist, Muslim terrorist - Muslim terrorist!"  One of the reasons that whatever we are doing there must be futile, is that while our young men are coming home in boxes, he has openly stated he wants to talk with and strengthen ties with the Muslim Brotherhood!  He isn't so stupid that he doesn't know the Muslim Brotherhood funds terrorists, like the ones who are killing our troops!  Am I blatant, yes I am, absolutely!  Jesus was blatant when he called the religious leaders of His day, who were also the political leaders, "vipers" (Matthew 12:34), "children of the devil" (John 8:44), and "white-washed sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27); and John the Baptist also referred to them as "vipers," Matthew 3:7.  As Christians, we can't be "politically correct" and beat around the bush and spare everyone's feelings - type of people.  We must call it what it is.