Word: afghan
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...continued to rise since 2008, officials believe the farmers will be more amenable to change. But much will depend on whether the farmers can be persuaded that they've seen the last of the Taliban. Many fear the insurgents will return and punish those who cooperated with U.S. and Afghan officials...
...semblance of normality has returned to Marjah under the watchful presence of 15,000 NATO and Afghan forces. Even President Karzai, who seldom leaves his Kabul palace for fear of assassination, was emboldened to pay a flying visit to a local mosque on March 7. He listened while local elders scolded him over his choices of corrupt officials posted to Marjah and the civilian casualties caused by the NATO assault. They also demanded that he build schools and hospitals and provide jobs. "They had some very legitimate complaints - very, very legitimate," Karzai said soberly as he left the mosque. "They...
...American officials say Karzai knows he must deliver good government to Marjah - something he has failed to do in Kabul - and quickly, or the drug syndicates will be back. Much of the burden will fall to dozens of Afghan officials who arrived on the back of the military offensive to set up a new local administration - McChrystal's so-called government in a box. It has not gotten off to a promising start, though. Abdul Zahir Aryan, the man picked to be the district chief of the new Marjah administration, has a far-from-stellar record. He left for Germany...
...adds that at night, masked Taliban fighters appear at houses and threaten to behead people if they work with the government. The insurgents need the farmers to stick with the poppy. According to U.N. experts, last year the Taliban reaped nearly $300 million from the drug trade; Afghan officials put the figure far lower, from $80 million to $100 million. Even at the low estimate, says a Western counternarcotics agent, "that's still enough to fuel the insurgency for a year." Nearly all of the Taliban's drug profits came from Helmand province, and a big chunk came from Marjah...
...drug lords will be looking for a chance to return to Marjah as soon as the NATO troops move on. That opportunity may present itself this summer. As McChrystal turns his attention to other Taliban strongholds in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province, he will depend on Afghan security forces to protect Marjah. In the past, the drug lords have exploited the absence of Western troops to strike alliances with Afghan officials, getting them to play the Taliban's role of protectors of the drug trade. Khan, the farmer, has seen it happen before. "When there is no Taliban, the government...