MEHTAR LAM, Afghanistan ? In this small, sweltering provincial capital in eastern Afghanistan, news usually takes one of two forms: the latest deadly attack by Taliban insurgents or the latest high-profile project of American military teams, who have built roads, bridges and waterworks.
Yet many residents say they can hardly wait for U.S. troops to withdraw from Laghman Province, one of seven areas in the country that have been chosen for an early, partly symbolic transition from foreign to Afghan security control beginning next month. All foreign combat forces are to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014.
Some Laghmanis say NATO forces have been a lightning rod for Taliban attacks that will end once the foreigners depart. Some are tired of being forced off roads by fast-moving, heavily armed military convoys. Many are convinced the Afghan police and army can do a better job of protecting them from a familiar enemy on familiar turf.
?When the Americans leave, we will all pass out sweets,? said Najibullah, 24, a mechanic who has a brother in the army. ?They have paved the roads and done other good things, but they have created problems, too. The Taliban say they come here to do jihad, but that is just an excuse. Once the Americans leave, the excuse will be gone. If the Taliban come back and kill my brother, I will be the first to kill them.?
Provincial security officials, echoing statements by President Hamid Karzai and national police and army leaders, expressed confidence that Afghan forces will be ready to take charge. A battalion of army special forces is to relocate here, and intelligence operations have met with recent success.
Last week, officials said a terrorist plot was foiled when a truck carrying 5,300 pounds of explosives was detected and impounded.
But some tribal and political leaders here said they are far from satisfied with the planned security handoff. On Saturday night at a local cable TV business, two bombs exploded in quick succession, an insurgent tactic designed to draw victims to the scene. The second bomb killed two police officers. But the tribal elders are far more worried about remote rural districts where Afghan forces are reluctant to enter and insurgents can roam freely.
?Our area of security is shrinking every day,? said Atiqullah Rahmzai, head of the provincial council, whose predecessor was killed in a Taliban ambush in March. ?We were happy the foreign forces were here, and our biggest concern is what will happen when they leave. We will still be all right in the city, but if we don?t create local police forces, who is going to go out and protect people in the villages??
Ambivalence
Several hundred miles to the west, the ancient city of Herat near the Iranian border is also slated to transition to Afghan security control next month. The other five areas are the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north; the city of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan; most of Kabul, the capital; tiny Panjshir Province; and the city of Lashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan?s Helmand Province.
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