The AP is reporting that 20 members of Navy SEAL Team Six — the unit responsible for Osama bin Laden’s killing — were among those killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Some sources indicate that none of the SEAL members who died in the crash were present during the Islamabad night raid back in May, but nearly all agree that this is the largest death toll from a Taliban attack in the Afghanistan War’s 10-year history.

If true, can we admit that this is a symbolic defeat for America? Three months after we stormed the Capitol steps in a barbaric celebration of Osama bin Laden’s killing, the Taliban shoots down a helicopter containing 20 Navy SEALS who were part of the unit responsible for bin Laden’s death. What more could signify our militaristic impotency than suffering the single greatest loss of life in a war that was initiated an entire decade ago? Especially given that the loss included 20 members who were part of a team that had killed the ailing and some say long-insignificant despot who had triggered that very war? What Capitol steps are Taliban members storming at this very moment, celebrating America’s defeat with the same glee that enraptured our own youth the day of Osama’s death?

Simon Owens is a journalist and media consultant living Washington, DC. You can read his blog, follow him on Twitter, or email him at [email protected]