Barack Obama's current tour of Asia has seen one issue follow the president wherever he goes: whether or not he will increase troop numbers in Afghanistan. Meanwhile on Sunday, State Secretary Hillary Clinton announced that the US had no "long-term stake" in the country. The row over troop numbers appears for the most part to be exciting international debate. In Kabul, people just want work and economic progress.
 
Many people in the Afghan capital do not think the international forces in Afghanistan have achieved much. Why should Afghans believe the situation will improve with the deployment of yet more troops? A survey of journalists, politicians and diplomats.
 
Troops not the issue
Sarwar Achmadzai took part in this year’s elections and says he is now being considered for a ministerial post. “It’s not really important – 30,000, 40,000, or 50,000 extra troops. It’s not the issue. In fact,” he concludes, “I think it’ll make it less safe.” He thinks economic progress is important and that the Afghan government has to also become more credible. “President Obama has to be able to do business with a legitimate administration, that the most important thing. Then, the Taliban will want to negotiate.”

A top diplomat from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan who is working in Kabul is also “absolutely” against extra troops. “The only thing at present that the international forces can do is train the Afghan army and police. I believe the soldiers should leave their bases as little as possible. The last few years have shown that this has led to lots of mistakes: civilian casualties, dropping bombs guided by mistaken intelligence, and so on. The dispute is, after all, political not military.”
 
Economic progress
Javed Hamim, editor of Afghanistan’s Pajhwok press agency, wrote a piece in the Pashto and Dari languages this morning about the row over the extra deployment. "It’s not an issue here in Kabul. Maybe it will be when people come home from work this evening and turn on their televisions.” He thinks there could be peace in Afghanistan “within a month” but that has nothing to do with extra soldiers.
 
"There are already lots of troops, from 42 Western countries. There are helicopters and huge transport planes everywhere. But they haven’t brought peace. In the end, people will realise that fighting doesn’t work here. What will? Reconciliation between the various groups, including President Hamid Karzai’s camp and the Taliban. That’s what the international community should be working on. They should move the focus from the fighting towards good governance and economic progress. Where are the factories? Where is the work for the Afghan people?”

Hussain Yasa heads the Afghanistan Group of Newspapers based in Kabul. He is not all that interested in US Ambassador Eikenberry’s comments. “Obama, Clinton, Eikenberry, they’re all concerned with their own audience back home in the US. What should happen here? Instead of extra foreign troops, they should work on extra Afghan soldiers and police officers. The foreign troops should then concentrate as much as possible on the hard core rebels who refuse to work with the legitimate government. They should deal with those who resolutely reject reconciliation.”