Afghanistan

Steve Scher
08/23/2005 at 9:00 a.m.

Monday, U.S. Officials reported that U.S. and Afghan troops killed at least 40 suspected rebels. The troops were targeting people who reportedly involved in the ambush of Navy SEAL commandos. That attack was the deadliest attack on American forces in Afghanistan. This year is already the deadliest for American soldiers in Afghanistan since the war of 2001. Sunday, four American soldiers were killed and three others injured when a roadside bomb exploded under their vehicle in southern Afghanistan. More than 180 U.S. service members have been killed in and around Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion. More than a third of those killed - 65 - died in the last six months. It is possible things will get worse in the run up to the nation's legislative elections on Sept. 18th. Why is the fighting still going on in Afghanistan? How can the institutions necessary to support democracy become established while fighting continues?

Guests:
Beth DeGrasse program officer in the Peace and Stability Operations program and coordinator of the US Institute of Peace Institute's Afghanistan Working Group
Peter Manikas senior associate and regional director for Asia programs at the National Democratic Institute