thedrifter
08-23-09, 07:38 AM
Afghan support evades Marines
In a southern Afghanistan village sympathetic to the Taliban, U.S. troops face an uphill fight.
By Richard A. Oppel Jr.
The New York Times
KHAN NESHIN, Afghanistan — American Marines secured this desolate village in southern Afghanistan nearly two months ago, and last week they were fortifying bases, manning checkpoints and patrolling in full body armor in 120-degree heat. Despite those efforts, only a few hundred Afghans here voted for president Thursday.
In a region the Taliban has lorded over for six years, American officers say their troops alone are not enough to reassure Afghans.
Even the recently appointed district governor feels dismayed.
"I don't get any support from the government," said the official, Massoud Ahmad Rassouli Balouch.
Massoud has no body of advisers to help run the area, no doctors to provide health care, no teachers, no professionals to do much of anything. About all he says he does have are police officers who steal and a small group of Afghan soldiers who say they are here for "vacation."
It all raises serious questions about what the American mission is in southern Afghanistan and about how long Afghans will tolerate foreign troops.
Despite the Americans' presence, Afghan officials said just 290 people voted here last week at what is the only polling place in a region the size of Connecticut. Some officers were stunned even that many voted, given the Taliban's ability to intimidate.
Massoud estimated that two of every three local residents supported the Taliban, mostly because they make a living growing poppy for the drug trade, which the Taliban controls. Others support them for religious reasons or because they object to foreign forces.
Not least, people understand that the Taliban has not disappeared but simply fallen back to Garmsir, 40 miles north, and will almost surely try to return.
Lt. Col. Tim Grattan, the battalion commander, said the residents fear what could happen to anyone who sided with the Marines, an apprehension stoked by past operations that sent troops in for only short periods.
"They are on the fence," Grattan said. "They want to go with a winner. They want to see if we stay around and will be able to protect them from the Taliban and any repercussions."
Ellie
In a southern Afghanistan village sympathetic to the Taliban, U.S. troops face an uphill fight.
By Richard A. Oppel Jr.
The New York Times
KHAN NESHIN, Afghanistan — American Marines secured this desolate village in southern Afghanistan nearly two months ago, and last week they were fortifying bases, manning checkpoints and patrolling in full body armor in 120-degree heat. Despite those efforts, only a few hundred Afghans here voted for president Thursday.
In a region the Taliban has lorded over for six years, American officers say their troops alone are not enough to reassure Afghans.
Even the recently appointed district governor feels dismayed.
"I don't get any support from the government," said the official, Massoud Ahmad Rassouli Balouch.
Massoud has no body of advisers to help run the area, no doctors to provide health care, no teachers, no professionals to do much of anything. About all he says he does have are police officers who steal and a small group of Afghan soldiers who say they are here for "vacation."
It all raises serious questions about what the American mission is in southern Afghanistan and about how long Afghans will tolerate foreign troops.
Despite the Americans' presence, Afghan officials said just 290 people voted here last week at what is the only polling place in a region the size of Connecticut. Some officers were stunned even that many voted, given the Taliban's ability to intimidate.
Massoud estimated that two of every three local residents supported the Taliban, mostly because they make a living growing poppy for the drug trade, which the Taliban controls. Others support them for religious reasons or because they object to foreign forces.
Not least, people understand that the Taliban has not disappeared but simply fallen back to Garmsir, 40 miles north, and will almost surely try to return.
Lt. Col. Tim Grattan, the battalion commander, said the residents fear what could happen to anyone who sided with the Marines, an apprehension stoked by past operations that sent troops in for only short periods.
"They are on the fence," Grattan said. "They want to go with a winner. They want to see if we stay around and will be able to protect them from the Taliban and any repercussions."
Ellie