Afghanistan: February 4, 2003

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US troops continue to get hostile treatment from NGOs. The aid groups continue to demand more military protection, while at the same time accusing US Army troops of causing unrest among Afghanistan's warring factions. The bad relations with the NGOs is not universal, but it is common and generally one sided. The army civil affairs troops are perplexed at the NGO accusations, seeing them as a combination of paranoia and ignorance. 

American Special Forces and civil affairs troops continue to develop relationships with Afghans, and from this they create sources of information on who is still with the Taliban, or engaged in banditry. Information can be bought, if you know who is selling. However, the large number of guns still in the country, and the ample displays of wealth (vehicles, cameras, electronic gear and new clothes) by aid workers have led to an increase in banditry. Afghans are attacked as well, but not as frequently because Afghans often fight back, and have less to steal. 

 

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