ISLAMABAD -- A team of Afghan military officers who have just completed their first ever military exercises with Pakistani and U.S. troops in Pakistan represent Washington's hope for a new future for Afghanistan's beleaguered security apparatus. But the effort also promises to stir controversy because the architects of Afghanistan's new post-Taliban era are failing to oversee a transition to more representative politics and to rejuvenate the country's economy.
As U.S. President George W. Bush loses popularity at home, the mood in Kabul is anything but relaxed. Bush's downward slide will undoubtedly impact his promise to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.
In recent months, members of Afghanistan's hardline Taliban movement have reorganized themselves and are making a comeback. They have not only launched vicious attacks on U.S. and Afghan soldiers but are also increasingly relying on particularly brutal methods such as beheading their victims, whose numbers include informers and anyone linked to Afghanistan's government.