Word: afghanization
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Even if Saudi Arabia or others stepped into the financial breach, not all Afghans are convinced that the Taliban leadership can be easily peeled away from al-Qaeda. A senior Afghan security official points to a recent attack on the U.N. compound in Kabul that was planned and financed by al-Qaeda but executed by the Taliban. The war has brought their causes closer together, he says. "Now the real Taliban is no different from the real al-Qaeda. They are not a bunch of hungry guys fighting because al-Qaeda is paying them. They will never accept our vision...
That rejection extends to Western demands for Afghan women to have basic rights. Listen to Abdul Wahid, 26, a Taliban member jailed for his involvement in a car-bomb blast that claimed several lives. Wahid says compromise on the establishment of Islamic law is out of the question - and to him, that means women would not be able to work. "They could leave the house, but only if they were dressed appropriately. They could go to school, but they would never be able to work in offices - only in women's hospitals or as teachers at girls' schools...
...that is why Hekmat Karzai sees the enthusiasm for talks less as a considered proposal for a long-term Afghan solution and more as a way for the U.S. and its allies to get out as soon as they can. "If we are going to initiate dialogue, it should not be so the West can immediately leave Afghanistan, saying, 'Look, now they have come together. They have developed a solution Afghans are happy with, so we can back off.' If you did that, this country would collapse back into chaos. We have to do this because we want to make...
...Afghanistan is not nearly as vital to America's global interests as World War II was - and the Taliban's tyranny pales in comparison to that of the Third Reich. But while it's too simplistic to focus solely on the moral imperatives of the Afghan campaign, it would be just as shortsighted for Obama to ignore them altogether. History shows that Americans are far more willing to support a war that they believe is worthy of their ideals. If Obama hopes to rally the American people behind his strategy, his speech needs to convince them that...
Read about paying for the Afghan...