"What's needed are Afghans to step up to the plate
Problem is General, they are stepping up to the plate in order to fight American and NATO forces with growing frequency in an ever expanding war.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101028/ap_on_go_ot/us_us_afghanistan (broken link)
Quote:
Regaining control of the Kandahar region — where the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were planned — was considered crucial to meeting Obama's timeline.
But the outcome remains far from certain. Carter and other military officials say that significant challenges lie ahead, including the need to persuade locals to shun the Taliban and sign up for government service.
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A few points from the article seem to be a reoccurring theme even after 10 years of conflict.
The inability to prop up an effective district government has stalled progress in nearby Marjah, a cluster of farming hamlets in southern Afghanistan where firefights continue some eight months after a major NATO-led offensive there.
We can't even "prop up" an effective district government, nor can we effectively "prop up" an effective national government. This would indicate that we aren't propping much of anything up, but more like going through the motions.
The article goes on to point out some small gains and ease of travel in several areas, again, after 10 years of conflict. The true futility of this endeavor is really highlighted in the following line.
Quote:
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And for the first time, 10 tons of pomegranates were exported recently out of Kandahar Air Field, he said.
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10 tones of pomegranates, compared to the hundreds of tons of opium worth hundreds of times more that are exported with far greater regularity.
Yet even now the stalling continues as the military says that any true measure of progress won't be known until June of next year, just one month before Obama has promised to begin troop reduction.
Anyone want to take bets now on what the 2011 troop reductions actually look like?
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