| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Written on 17th January 2010, the article argues that there will not be support for a continued American and Western military presence in Afghanistan for very long, and that building an effective ethnically balanced Afghan Security Forces, improving the quality of governance, redressing the balance of power between different ethnic groups, eliminating corruption, providing better governance, bringing under control the clandestine financing received by the Taliban from donors who view America as an enemy of Islam and a blind supporter of Israel, reducing the financing provided by the opium cultivation and trafficking will take more time than is available. It advocates that the enunciated American Counter terrorism doctrine-15% kinetic, 20% diplomatic and 65% economic-should be applied in practice with money being spent on creation of employment opportunities in proportion to the $100 billion budgeted for the military effort after the troop increase of 30,000 announced by President Obama. Reconciliation with the Taliban and offering them a share of power after having reduced their support base by providing employment and economic opportunities to the Taliban foot soldiers offers the only solution within the available time frame. Welcoming the emphasis on protecting the population as the basic thrust of military activity it suggests that this must be accompanied by military action to clear and hold selected areas traditionally regarded as Taliban strongholds and that in such areas good governance must be quickly established to further the winning of "hearts and minds" among a people who have over the centuries survived by picking the winning side.
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