Consistency will bring Peace

Re: Afghan Officials Claim Control Over Taliban Area (February 24, 2010)
To The Editor,
When the combined forces chased the Taliban out of Marja, the attitudes of the citizens of this former Taliban stronghold were depicted as ungrateful. However I think that one man interviewed in this article summed up the feelings of the villagers perfectly, He said, “For us, they [the militaries] are not useful. We don’t want them to stay in Marja. We want them to leave. For us both the Taliban and the Marines are the same. They are fighting and killing us. We don’t want either.” How can anyone blame them for this attitude though? For years these people have lived in fear of everything. In their eyes this takeover is not one of peace but merely one group with guns being replaced by another. However I think that a situation like Marja is exactly what this war needs. Everyone, not just the people of Marja, need to see that once a promise is made it will be kept. The Afghan army needs to keep its promise of building schools and clearing the city of anything that could harm the inhabitants. Once the inhabitants see that the Taliban is not their only option for consistent security I believe that the support needed for the troops will be readily given and this war will be able to do what needs to be done to restore peace and security everywhere.