Occupiers

By Ron Beasley

As Steve noted below Obama's National Security Adviser, James L. Jones has some serious doubts about sending additional troops to Afghanistan. As Jones said:

"we can't want this more than the Afghans"

Well increasingly the Afghans want it less.

�What have the Americans done in eight years?� asked Abdullah Wasay,
60, a pharmacist in Charikar, a market town about 25 miles north of
Kabul, expressing a view typical of many here. �Americans are saying
that with their planes they can see an egg 18 kilometers away, so why
can�t they see the Taliban?�

Such sentiments were repeated in
conversation after conversation with more than 30 Afghans in Kabul and
nearby rural areas and with local officials in outlying provinces. The
comments point to the difficulties that American and Afghan officials
face if they choose to add more foreign troops.

If the foreign
forces are not seen so by Afghans already, they are on the cusp of
being regarded as occupiers, with little to show people for their
extended presence, fueling wild conspiracies about why they remain
here.

The feeling is particularly acute in the Pashtun south,
but it is spreading to other parts of the country. More American troops
could tip the balance of opinion, particularly if they increase
civilian casualties and prompt even more Taliban attacks.

There may have been a time when we could make a difference in Afghanistan but that time is long past.