Footnote:
Americans Lose Afghan Approval
Afghan support for the United States' military efforts in Afghanistan has plummeted since American soldiers and aircraft helped local militias topple the Taliban regime late last year. A survey in December and January by the Centre for Economic and Social Rights, a New York-based human-rights group, conducted in two provinces, Kabul and several refugee camps in Pakistan, found that 70% of those polled supported U.S. military efforts. By June, a survey of the 1,700 delegates to the loya jirga, or grand tribal council, found support for the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan at just 20%. The views of delegates could be taken as a fair representation of the views of the population surveyed earlier in the year, according to Afghan-Canadian Omar Zakhilwal of Carleton University in Ottawa, who participated in both surveys. Zakhilwal attributed the drop to several factors, including the failure of the U.S. and its allies to launch any significant economic development projects, and their failure to rein in the country's warlords and return the country to democracy. Support for President Hamid Karzai also dropped after the first survey, when 90% believed that he would tame the warlords, build a strong government, restore security and reconstruct Afghanistan. In June, less than 50% still held those views. Many delegates complained publicly that the tribal council results were heavily influenced by the U.S., which supports Karzai.
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