TIME: Taliban once again rules southern Afghanistan

[DeepModem Mom]

Where the Taliban Rules (Again)
Government authority in parts of southern Afghanistan has been eclipsed by a resurgent Taliban. And the insurgents are gaining momentum
By MUHIB HABIBI/KANDAHAR

Posted Monday, May. 15, 2006
NATO troops taking charge of security in southern Afghanistan are entering what is quickly becoming a war zone, as the Taliban makes its boldest strides since it was driven from power by the U.S. and its allies in November 2001. Although Afghan government officials in Kandahar insist that "we are taking control on everything, the area has been calm since two months," residents of the city and its surroundings view things differently. Businesses have closed, and recent intense clashes between Taliban fighters and security forces have created a sense that the political order installed in Kabul after the Taliban's ouster may itself be about to collapse — under pressure from the resurgent Taliban insurgency and under the weight of its own dependence on local warlords.

The insurgent onslaught is helped by the fact that the government in the south appears to be incapable of delivering on the promise of democracy. Says Abdul Qadar, director of Human Rights Watch in Kandahar, "Warlords are part of the problem and, unofficially, they are controlling the Government administration."

That may have been a familiar problem, except that under the new political order the population expected to have recourse to the national legislature, the president and the constitution. But the priority of the Karzai government has been security, which remains elusive and makes the government ever-reliant on the support of the warlords. "The people's expectations were not met," says Qadar. "They have lost trust in constitutional law and parliament, because they did not receive any help."...

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So pervasive is the sense that the Taliban is effectively in charge that the public, fearing retribution, has rejected help from the government and U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). One source in the Suri District in Zabol province explained why locals had turned down a water-purification project proposed by the local PRT: "I don't want to be put to death by Taliban," he said.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1194306,00.html?cnn=yes

[yellowcanine]

1. Way to go George. Nice to see freedom spreading in the world.

[ContraBass Black]

2. Color me surprised.

So, what are all those people dead for?

[lectrobyte]

3. The pipeline is ok though, right?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. I could have predicted that

Imagine what the billions spent in Iraq could have done to reconstruct Afghanistan, especially if it had been used to hire local people to do construction work and provide microloans to war widows. :cry:

[radwriter0555]

5. The taliban is better than the northern alliance.

That's for sure.

[bullimiami]

6. neither should be acceptable.