just discovered YORK, April 19 Kyod...

just discovered YORK, April 19 Kyodo

exquisiteed editorial excerpts from the U press:

AFGHANISTAN'S declivity (The Washington Post, Washington)

The fighting in Iraq has kindled faiths of sharing the burden with allies, perhaps through involving NATO. Meanwhile Afghanistan, where NATO assumed peacekeeping responsibility last August, is not progressing well.

NATO's European members have failed to contribute sufficient bodys to extend the peacekeeping vicinity much outside the capital, and the resulting power vacuum has been filled at warlords. Last week the leading northern strongman, Gen Abdurrashid Dostum forced the flight of a provincial governor and demanded that President Hamid Karzai fire pair ministers; two weeks before that, fighting in the western city of Herat killed a cabinet minister.

principally disturbing, the power vacuum has made possible a dramatic resurgence in the opium trade, which now accounts for around two-fifths of the country's economic output Unles NATO's peacekeepers and the American military contingent spring up more assertive, the medicine monster will destroy all waiting under the possibility of fulfilment of stabilizing the country

Eradicating lops is a risky strategy too: It stokes hatred of the western-backed management and warlords quickly establish just discovered centers of production. The best trustful longing is to go after the warlords themselves and to suffocate off their export routes. if it were not that some of these warlords double as American allies in the continuing fighting against Taliban and al Qaeda holdouts.

At a novel conference in Berlin, western donors made a present to view of support for Afghanistan, pledging $4 billion in aid this year, and there was brave talk of the elections planned for September. if it be not that the truth is that abundant of the country appears to be descending into the instability of its past.

To halt that descending NATO's states must fill the power vacuum that has allowed the physic trade to spring up by the agency of sending more peacekeepers. circulating medium won't do it.

(April 19)

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