US forgotten Afghan war makes a slow comeback on tube

The war against Taleban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, post 9/11, which was codenamed as Operation Enduring Freedom by the US is slowly making a comeback in the mainstream media after it was forgotten by the developments taking place in Iraq. hile people in neighbouring Canada still debates how long Canadian forces will remain engaged in a military role in Afghanistan, the US seems almost Afghanistan free zone with media, especially the television networks here, focussing more on Iraq war that has cost the Washington exchequer 450 billion dollars, and has taken the lives of 3,600 marines.

Washington, Aug 13 : The war against Taleban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, post 9/11, which was codenamed as 'Operation Enduring Freedom' by the US is slowly making a comeback in the mainstream media after it was forgotten by the 'developments' taking place in Iraq. hile people in neighbouring Canada still debates how long Canadian forces will remain engaged in a military role in Afghanistan, the US seems almost "Afghanistan free zone" with media, especially the television networks here, focussing more on Iraq war that has cost the Washington exchequer 450 billion dollars, and has taken the lives of 3,600 marines.

Compared to this, 'Operation Enduring Freedom' has claimed the US, 127 billion dollars and 350 soldiers' lives.

However, a resurgent and emboldened al-Qaeda that reconstituted in camps along the Afghanistan border in Pakistan, while the NATO forces bombed Afghan villages, has helped Kabul and the Hamid Karzai government get attention in the US media.

Karzai's visit to Camp David last week and Democrat's Presidential hopefuls quarrelling over US' foreign policy in public debates have only acted as catalyst to the growing concerns about Kabul in Washington.

With domestic strife in Islamabad and the visible impact of hardened militants in the streets of Peshwar in Pakistan, the US media and analysts are getting their act together and have started assessing fallouts of US President George Bush's Afghan campaign if it further worsens.

"If (the military intervention in) Afghanistan fails, there will be no state, no economy and no government," a report in The Gazette, Canada quoted Marvin Weinbaum, as saying.

Weinbaum, who worked as an analyst on Afghanistan and Pakistan in the U.S. State Department from 1999 through 2003 further added: "In that kind of soil, certainly the enemies of the United States and everybody else will be able to flourish."

Though news coming from Kabul may be bad, but according to Weinbaum getting Afghanistan back into the public eye is for good reason.

"Bombs go off in Britain. Bombs go off in Spain. They could go off in Toronto. They (Canadians) are not going to be able to buy out of this. We are talking now about hard-core terrorists. And, for the time being, their safest place is Afghanistan," he added.

ANI