Helping the Afghan People

I'd see the 'hearts and minds' component as far more crucial than it is often given credit for. Only if the local people can sense that they are secure with the Coalition and that their lives are noticeably improving, will they have any reason to have the loyalty to the provisional government necessary for the Taliban to be unwelcome there. This would involve great cultural sensitivity- even if we find their values too backward, that's where they are at and it needs to be respected- much like if we time-travelled back to one of our societies hundreds of years ago, when issues involving 'modesty' were more crucial (I know, the comparison is in many ways invalid, but you get the picture that it is about shoeing more empathy than apathy).

All of this holds true whatever the real intentions of the Afghanistan mission- if the people's lives, impoverished for centuries, improve too it can only be be a good thing.