Word: kabul
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...from the conservative western province of Herat, and while she charmed audiences nationwide with her joyful renditions of classic Afghan songs, she was persecuted by conservatives for daring to break cultural taboos against women singing in public. These days, however, her face, emblazoned on election posters and billboards across Kabul, symbolizes the shattering of new barriers: popularly elected women in politics. Last week it was announced that Tarana had been elected to the 29-seat Kabul Provincial Council (akin to a U.S. state legislature), winning with the second highest number of votes - 8,404 - out of a field...
...sound policy. If U.S. forces were not in Afghanistan, the Taliban, with its al-Qaeda allies in tow, would seize control of the country's south and east and might even take it over entirely. A senior Afghan politician told me that the Taliban would be in Kabul within 24 hours without the presence of international forces. This is not because the Taliban is so strong; generous estimates suggest it numbers no more than 20,000 fighters. It is because the Afghan government and the 90,000-man Afghan army are still so weak...
...There are four main prescriptions for a more realistic strategy in Afghanistan. First, stop trying to do the impossible, i.e., build an effective government in Kabul and enlarge Afghan security forces. Corruption, inefficiency and addiction are endemic to Afghan society. We should instead focus on forging a smaller army, say 75,000 or 100,000, that can and will actually fight, and concentrate on arming and training local warlords and tribal leaders who can defend themselves. This, backed by good U.S. logistics and intelligence, could block a Taliban reconquest of Afghanistan...
...area. Earlier this year, a 21-year-old Afghan fighter who had trained in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, tried to kill four American aid workers in a car bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. After his arrest, Shafiq Shah gave an interview to TIME in a Kabul prison in which he described the indoctrination that young fighters receive concerning the role of foreign aid workers. "[Muslim aid recipients] shouldn't eat infidel food," Shah said. "God gave us everything we need. We have bodies and hands and eyes and community - why can't those people work...
...because they were weak, but because the Afghan government was never accepted by the people. If people do not accept and recognize the legitimacy of the Afghan government we cannot force them with foreign forces. And that is where we are going." Karzai has a lock on power in Kabul for the next five years, but if can't be persuaded or compelled to fundamentally reform his government, the echo of the Soviet example may grow louder and more ominous...