An Australian defense analyst believes the situation in Afghanistan is much worse now than right after the 2001 terrorist attacks -- and he is convinced the U.S. must take a long-term role there.
Recently the top U.S. general in Afghanistan said insurgent attacks have increased 40 percent this year over last year in the eastern section of the country. Major General Jeffery J. Schloesser says his troops have been tracking the movements of what he called "a syndicate" of terrorists, including Taliban, al-Qaida, Pakistanis, Afghans, and others, who move back and forth across the troubled Afghan-Pakistani border. Schloesser told a Pentagon news conference that terrorists are attacking Afghan civic centers and schools, killing teachers, students, road crews, and others who are working to improve life in Afghanistan, but the coalition is still making good progress in training the Afghan army. Greg Copley is president of the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA). "The situation in Afghanistan is actually much worse than it was just after September 11, 2001. And the problem is, if the United States wants to play a long-term role in stabilizing the Pakistan-Afghan border region, it's going to have to be on the basis of spending the money not on ordinance, but on building roads, schools, clinics, and the like to open up the territory so that we can see that area modernize," Copley explains. Copley says it is important for Afghanistan to modernize so it does not remain imprisoned in the old tribal mentality.
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