U.S.AFPAK fueling flames, fear, relentless retaliation

Excerpting, editing, comment by Carolyn Bennett

Winning hearts and minds?    I DON'T THINK SO.

BBC News Front-page — Southwest Asia

“This year has been the bloodiest yet in the U.S.-led coalition’s nine-year war against Taliban forces, with civilian casualties at an all-time high.”


AFGHANISTAN December 6

The Afghan Centre for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research carried out a national survey between October 29 and November 13 this year. These are some of its findings reported by the BBC.

U.S./NATO

The poll found 27% of people felt attacks against U.S. or NATO troops were justified; 64% disagreed.
The number of those surveyed who blamed American forces for the violence rose from 5% last year to 14% this year.

Taliban

The numbers blaming the Taliban for the killing fell from 42% to 33%.
11% expressed support for Taliban fighters.
73% of Afghans said they backed a negotiated settlement.
Some 23% said they supported continuing the fight against the Taliban — a similar level of backing as in previous years.

Fear

The survey of 1,691 Afghans, for the BBC and other news groups, suggests that security has overtaken the economy as the greatest concern.

Support for foreign involvement in Afghanistan is still very strong - with 63% saying they back the presence of U.S. forces and 54% supporting NATO/ISAF.

Fifty-nine percent of those asked said they felt the country was going in the right direction, down from 70% the previous year.

PAKISTAN December 6

Forty (est.) people died and dozens suffered wounds today when a suicide bomb exploded at the Mohmand Agency government compound in northwest Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan.

The suicide bombers were dressed in police uniforms. Since government forces raided a mosque in Islamabad in 2007, thousands of people throughout Pakistan have died in “al-Qaeda and Taliban attacks.”

Sources
“Afghan support for attacks on NATO rising – poll,” December 6, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11910134
“Pakistan suicide bomb attack kills dozens,” December 6, 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11924584



____________________________________________

Bennett's books available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; The Book Den, Ltd.: BookDenLtd@frontiernet.net [Danville, NY]; Talking Leaves Books-Elmwood: talking.leaves.elmwood@gmail.com [Buffalo, NY]; Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza: http://www.bhny.com/ [Albany, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY]; LONGS’ Cards and Books: http://longscardsandbooks.com/ [Penn Yan, NY]
____________________________________________