After 9/11, most Americans, (including
Howard Dean) supported the War in Afghanistan to extricate al Qaeda and the Taliban, who were responsible for perpetrating the most heinous crime on U.S. soil. Many who oppose the War in Iraq argue that it diverted attention and military forces from Afghanistan - the country that actually attacked us on 9/11. This is the consequence of such action, according to the
New York Times.
KABUL, Afghanistan, June 10 -- A large springtime offensive by Taliban fighters has turned into the strongest show of force by the insurgents since American forces chased the Taliban from power in late 2001, and Afghan and foreign officials and local villagers blame a lack of United States-led coalition forces on the ground for the resurgence.
...
Coalition and Afghan forces now clash daily with large groups of Taliban fighters across five provinces of southern Afghanistan. In their boldest push, the Taliban fought battles in a district just less than 20 miles outside the southern city of Kandahar in late May, forcing hundreds of people to abandon their villages for refuge in the city and in other towns as coalition forces resorted to aerial bombardment.
The Taliban are running checkpoints on secondary roads and seizing control of remote district centers for a night or two before melting away again. In the most blatant symbol of their dominance of rural areas, the Taliban have even conducted trials under Islamic law, or Shariah, outside official Afghan courts, and recently carried out at least one public execution.