The Real Enemy
As NATO’s member nations convene in Bucharest, Romania, to discuss the state of the alliance, Afghanistan will be at the top of the agenda. General Dan McNeil, commander of the alliance’s 43,250 soldiers in Afghanistan, has lobbied for another troop surge to help battle the rising insurgency in the country’s south. But lower-level commanders on the ground have something else to add to that wish list. Says one: “Frankly, defeating the Taliban is the least of our worries. They are not going to beat us. What is killing this country is corruption and drugs. That is not for NATO but for the Afghan government to deal with.” Some 8,000 more troops, which would constitute the two brigades that McNeil wants, may help secure volatile areas and clear the way for development — key steps toward winning the hearts and minds so dear to counter-insurgency strategists. But if Afghans have no faith in their government to provide equal justice and uniform law, NATO’s efforts will be of little worth. Aryn Baker (’01) reports for TIME.
