‘ ‘ ‘ The British began the first Anglo-Afghan War in 1839 when they invaded Afghanistan and… ‘ ‘ ‘ The British began the first Anglo-Afghan War in 1839 when they invaded Afghanistan and occupied the city of Kandahar. Within a few months, they had decisively defeated an Afghan army and installed a puppet king on the Afghan throne. ‘ ‘ ‘ But in less than three years, after a succession of attacks on British personnel, the British realized that the occupation was impossible to maintain. They were forced to retreat, the puppet king was assassinated, and of the occupying army of 4,500 men only one survived to escape Afghanistan. ‘ ‘ ‘ Britain was the greatest superpower of the mid-19th century. Its empire spanned the globe, and its military might was unmatched by its contemporaries. ‘ ‘ ‘ But in 1842, the greatest empire of the time was defeated by a ragtag collection of tribesmen in Central Asia’s backwater. ‘ ‘ ‘ Today, the United States occupies a similar global status to that of 19th-century Britain, as well as a similar defeat in Afghanistan. ‘ ‘ ‘ Like the British in 1839, the United States installed a puppet government at the beginning of the war ‘mdash; a government that now controls only 30 percent of the country, according to recent estimates published in Mother Jones magazine. ‘ ‘ ‘ What’s more, the government of Hamid Karzai has proven completely incapable of providing its citizens with running water, navigable roads or even food. The New York Times reported that nine million Afghans face ‘an acute food shortage this winter.’ That’s a quarter of the population. ‘ ‘ ‘ But one of the most basic government functions is to provide security, and in that area the Afghan government has failed more miserably than in any other. The number of civilian casualties has increased 39 percent this year, according to the Christian Science Monitor. ‘ ‘ ‘ Much of that increase is because of actions of NATO and government forces. The Christian Science Monitor reported that ‘the number of civilians killed by pro-government forces jumped by 21 percent this year, and air strikes were responsible for two-thirds of these.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But in spite of approaching mass starvation and increased civilian deaths resulting from a campaign of bombings perpetrated by the U.S. Air Force, the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, said in a recent news conference that the United States is winning the war. ‘We don’t have progress as even and as fast as any of us would like. But we are not losing in Afghanistan,’ said McKiernan. ‘ ‘ ‘ Compared to the British experience in 1839, I suppose this is winning. But by any reasonable standard it would appear that we’re losing, and no one is willing to say it. ‘ ‘ ‘ That is, no one except the American intelligence community is willing to say it. A recent New York Times articles reported, ‘A draft report by American intelligence agencies concludes that Afghanistan is in a ‘downward spiral’ and casts serious doubt on the ability of the Afghan government to stem the rise in the Taliban’s influence there.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ In short, the world has not paid proper attention to the situation in Afghanistan. Rather than seeking to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, NATO forces are terrorizing families, bombing villages and doing their best to annihilate the poppy trade, which is just about the only profitable occupation left in Afghanistan. ‘ ‘ ‘ Such initiatives are only pushing Afghans closer to the Taliban, which has set up shadow governments and courts throughout the country, according to reports in Mother Jones and the Telegraph. ‘ ‘ ‘ But rather than try to learn from the disastrous experiences of the British and Soviet occupations of Afghanistan, U.S. commanders, as well as the two major presidential candidates, simply call for more troops as the solution to the Afghan problem. ‘ ‘ ‘ Maybe this is a short-term solution to the problem; however, until there are reliable water supplies, paved roads and enough food in Afghanistan, the Taliban will always have support. The Taliban thrives on chaos and conflict because the one thing the Taliban can give the Afghan people is the stability of a 600-year-old ideology. ‘ ‘ ‘ To deprive the Taliban of its base, we must stop treating Afghans like collateral damage statistics and start treating them like human beings who deserve freedom from the medievalism of the Taliban, from hunger and from the fear of U.S. air strikes. E-mail Giles at [email protected].