Word: afghanistan
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...More Things Change ... Re "How the Taliban Thrives" [Sept. 7]: Our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is comparable to placing one's hand in a pail of water. When you stick your hand into the water, you create an effect. When you pull it out, the water returns to its original state. While we occupy those countries, we suffer casualties and financial disaster. Once we leave, everything will return to the way it was before: tribal wars, traditions and culture. We will have accomplished nothing. You cannot change thousand-year-old cultures into democratic states in a few years...
...believe the people of the U.S. and its allies have the perseverance it will take to make Afghanistan a viable state. The alternative, however, is regional instability that will violently challenge the West for decades. Wouldn't it be preferable to stick to our task and improve our methods - for example give the locals more of a stake as the author suggested - than to leave and relinquish our gains? Nancy Schimkat, WEINHEIM, GERMANY...
...your article you referred to "the billions of dollars spent on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan." Since you seem to have some hard information, perhaps you could enlighten us as to what this has achieved in the way of improvements to the lives of ordinary Afghans. Or is it merely rebuilding the damaged infrastructure caused by bombing sorties carried out by the U.S. military? Jonathan Wright, LONDON...
...worst-case scenario is that he may have been associated with the Taliban - in which case this might be the first time they have tried to attack U.S. interests outside Afghanistan and Pakistan. If the Taliban have joined al-Qaeda in taking the fight to the West, then counterterrorism and law-enforcement authorities will need to greatly expand the scope of their operations, at home and abroad. "If he's Taliban, then it greatly expands the universe of people you want to put under surveillance," says Bill Rosenau, a counterterrorism expert at Rand Corp...
...think we still want to go. We think the sooner that this happens it will benefit everyone. We think that at the end of the day we have to assist the Afghan people resolve their own problems and issues. So, the work and assistance we can give over Afghanistan is just say that these policies are wrong, that's a big help, and then help decide on the right course of action. You all know quite well that the situation in Afghanistan right now is far worse than it was eight years ago. So increasing the number of troops does...