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Afghan public opinion turning against presence of US forces
Washington Post - February 23, 2009
Kabul – The additional 17,000 soldiers that the US is preparing to send to Afghanistan will face a well-armed Taliban insurgency and an unarmed but equally daunting foe: public opinion.
In interviews across Kabul last week, Afghans said that instead of helping to quell the violence, more foreign forces will exacerbate the problem.
The comments echoed a recent survey by the BBC and the American ABC News that found that although 90 per cent of Afghans oppose the Taliban, fewer than half view the US favourably, a sharp drop from a year ago, and a quarter say attacks on US troops can be justified.
People interviewed spoke with anger and suspicion about the US-led coalition forces – questioning their motives and bitterly complaining about civilian casualties, home invasions and other alleged abuses.
"Bringing in another foreign army is not going to help," said Ibrahim Khan, 40, a truck driver. "They always come here for their own interests, and they always lose. Better to let everyone sit down with the elders and find a way for peace."
On Saturday US military officials acknowledged that US air strikes in the western province of Herat on Tuesday had killed 13 civilians and three insurgents. The US had initially reported that 15 insurgents were killed, but Afghan officials had disputed the assertion.
The growing negative perception of foreign forces is especially worrisome because US military planners say that they are counting on intensified interaction and co-operation with Afghan civilians as a vital complement to their expanded use of ground troops and firepower against the Islamist fighters.
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