(McClatchy photo: Chuck Liddy. An Afghan man listens to a US soldier at a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan.)
One of the biggest challenges facing President Obama in Afghanistan is the drive to train enough Afghan police and soldiers to handle the fight when US forces leave.
McClatchy's Jay Price and Chuck Liddy have been out to see how the training is going.
"Eight years after the U.S.-led invasion," Jay writes, " the police appear to be years away from functioning independently. American trainers say they must tell the Afghans repeatedly to do the simplest things, such as separating passengers they've searched from ones they haven't when they stop a vehicle."
Jay and Chuck spent time at a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban marked their territory with white flags and the Afghan soldiers abandoned their post after the American troops left.
Jay has the story. Chuck has the pictures.
Good luck Obama - You're gonna need it.
TheAZCowBoy
Tombstone, AZ.
Pssst, did you order those extra 100,000 Dow Corning zippered 'oder free' bodybags? Seems like you'll be needing a few,' before the US/EU UNOCAL oil/gas pipe line delivers Azerbaijani oil/gas to the UE, huh Pilgrims?
Posted by: TheAZCowBoy | November 29, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Leave Obama out of the accusations of only doing this for the oil. That was Bush not Obama. Obama is just trying to clean up the mess we created when we went into Afaganistan and then neglected it for Iraq because of lies and decite by our former President.
He is going to need all the luck he can get, but I have faith in our men and women in uniform. IF anyone can help that country its them. Now that we have a decent leader that actually cares about what happens both to them and the people in Afganistan.
Posted by: Kelien | December 03, 2009 at 02:23 PM
I don't think the war in Afganistan is for oil. Afganistan doesn't have very much oil. Its not nearly as big a industry as their poppy (AKA Opium) exports.
Posted by: Nelson | December 03, 2009 at 03:57 PM
Afghanistan itself does not have oil but it is considered the gateway to central asian oil fields. This is documented and confirmed that the US has been eyeing afghanistan for this reason even prior to 9/11. The US govt threatened the Taliban in the summer of 2001 you can look it up: google "carpet of gold carpet of bombs"
Posted by: NTY | December 04, 2009 at 03:48 PM