Sunday, October 08, 2006

Line in the Sand

From the BBC today:
Nato's commander in Afghanistan has said the country's citizens may start supporting the Taleban unless their lives improve in the next six months. Gen David Richards, a British officer, said the country was at a "tipping point", warning that up to 70% of Afghans could switch their support. They might prefer the "austere and unpleasant" life under the Taleban to five more years of fighting, he said.
[...]
"If we do not take advantage of this, then you can pour an additional 10,000 troops next year and we would not succeed because we would have lost by then the consent of the people." (emphasis mine)
So there you have it, five years on, NATO draws its line.

Six months.

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