Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Two Stories That Illustrate Why Afghanistan Has A Long To Go Before Attaining Any Level Of Stability

Children gather as members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah pull security during a mission in Farah City in Afghanistan's Farah province, May 12, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lovelady

Afghan Police Units Tangled In Criminal Activity -- L.A. Times

A U.S.-backed program to recruit police has failed to significantly stem the insurgency, with some units becoming deeply entangled in criminal activity, including bribe-taking and extortion, a Pentagon-funded study finds.

WASHINGTON — A U.S.-backed program to recruit police in rural Afghanistan has failed to significantly stem the insurgency, with some units becoming deeply entangled in criminal activity, including bribe-taking and extortion, according to a Pentagon-funded study.

The 13,000-member Afghan Local Police has been hailed by U.S. commanders as a vital, homegrown defense force in areas where the Taliban-led insurgency is strongest. But the unpublished study obtained by The Times contradicts official U.S. claims that the police are driving down attacks.

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As Foreign Troops Leave, Afghan Refugees And Poverty Increase -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Gulam recalls the evening she fled her home in northern Afghanistan on foot, running with her teen daughters under the cloak of darkness to avoid cooking a dinner for 20 Taliban insurgents.

"This Talib burst through my door and demanded I cook for them. But I had no money, and I was scared they would take my daughters," Gulam said, pulling a stripy shawl tightly around her gaunt and wrinkled face.

That night six months ago, Gulam and her family joined the half a million Afghans who are internally displaced, mostly from conflict but also natural disasters, a number which has been steadily increasing since 2008.

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My Comment: Corrupt police .... coupled with the Taliban exerting their own bizarre form of justice .... I know that maybe in a few centuries Afghanistan will find it`s way .... but unfortunately (for them) not in our lifetime.

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