Word: kabul
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...news from Afghanistan. President Obama faces questions from both the left and right. What is the point of pouring more troops or billions of dollars into Afghanistan, his critics say, when the Taliban seem to be gaining ground and the money simply vanishes into the baggy pockets of Kabul officials? (Read about roadside bombs in Afghanistan...
...Afghanistan and the U.S., says Ashraf Ghani, a U.S.-educated presidential contender. "If the U.S. leaves, it will be 'dog eat dog' here. We'll be the human zoo of the region," says Ghani. Like other Afghan intellectuals, Ghani foresees a grisly scenario in which the Taliban sweeps into Kabul, taking revenge on thousands of "collaborators" who helped Karzai and the Americans. Millions of ordinary Afghan citizens - including those who embraced the Western promises of education for girls, democracy and a place for Afghanistan in the 21st century - would flee the country...
...Qaeda, meanwhile, would return on a red carpet. "All these fancy new villas in Kabul where the diplomats and the rich businessmen live? They'll go to al-Qaeda families," says Mir, adding that a "defeat" of the U.S.-led forces here would be a boon to Muslim extremists around the world, much as the Soviet army's retreat from Afghanistan was during the late 1980s. (See pictures of Osama bin Laden...
...coalition convoy to rumble by to lessen the risk of becoming collateral damage. You try not to drive by the U.S. embassy or the Afghan ministries where the bombs also tend to go off. And so much for picnics and exploring the countryside: many of the roads out of Kabul are no longer safe for foreigners. That includes the one snaking down into the Kabul Gorge where the British were massacred. More surprising, it also includes the main Kabul-Kandahar highway, which was supposed to be a symbol to Afghans of the benefits of an American-backed government...
Most Afghans in Kabul appreciate the international presence because of the relative stability it brings. Outside the capital, in the parts that haven't received the promised roads and schools and bridges, it is another matter. But all Afghans are furious over the high number of civilian casualties, especially the latest incident in which the Germans called in two NATO aircraft to bomb two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban - never mind that villagers were swarming the tankers for free fuel...