Survey reflects Afghans' mixed views!

According to Rajiv Chandrasekan and Jon Cohen of the Washington Post, Afghans are now more pessimistic about the direction of their country, less confident in the ability of the US and its allies to provide security, and more willing to negotiate with the Taliban than they were a year ago, according to a new poll conducted in all of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, but residents of two key southern provinces that have been the focus of US military operations over the past year say aspects of their security and living conditions have improved significantly since last December. The new poll, conducted by The Washington Post, ABC News, the BBC and ARD television of Germany found a particularly notable shift in public opinion in Helmand province, where Marines have been conducting intensive counterinsurgency operations. The number of people in Helmand describing their security as "good" jumped from 14 percent in a December 2009 poll to 67 percent now. Nearly two-thirds of Helmand residents now say that Afghanistan is "on the right track". In Helmand and in neighboring Kandahar, the percentage of residents reporting threatening night-time letters from the Taliban has been sliced in half. Public assessment of the US military efforts in the area have also improved over the year, but 79 percent of people in the two provinces say American and Allied troops should start their withdrawal next summer or sooner!