Afghanistan "worse than ever"

national | racism & migration related issues | other press Thursday May 18, 2006 13:42 by Carlotta Gall

[Four] years after the Taliban were ousted from power by the American military, their presence is bigger and more menacing than ever, say police and government officials, village elders, farmers and aid workers across southern Afghanistan.

Taliban Rebels Still Menacing Afghan South

By Carlotta Gall

The New York Times, 2nd March 2006

[Four] years after the Taliban were ousted from power by the American military, their presence is bigger and more menacing than ever, say police and government officials, village elders, farmers and aid workers across southern Afghanistan.
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American and Afghan officials have said for months that the Taliban are no longer capable of fighting large battles, and in their weakness have changed tactics to roadside bombings or attacking soft targets, like harassing villagers, killing teachers and burning schools. Yet despite its evident military supremacy, the American-led alliance has not been able to root out the insurgency. The militants have closed down some 200 schools through threats and burnings across the south of Afghanistan, and killed dozens of government officials, tribal elders and civilians over the last year.
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In the villages, people are asking foreigners and nongovernmental organizations not to come around anymore, not because they do not need the aid, but for fear of reprisals from the Taliban, aid workers and villagers said.
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With its corrupt and often brutal local officials, the government has pushed the people into the arms of the Taliban, said Abdul Qadar Noorzai, head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in Kandahar.

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