A military and civilian campaign to neuter the Taliban that began in the Kandahar region this spring had been expected to ramp up in June and conclude by August. It will now probably stretch far into the fall.
The top commander in the largely stalemated Afghanistan war, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, said Thursday that the campaign will take longer than planned because local Afghans do not welcome the military-run operation.
The operation focuses on turning local allegiances against the Taliban and toward the U.S.-backed central government in Kabul. But the reality is that the Taliban is not a hated occupier in Kandahar, and the residents McChrystal is trying to protect do not universally want his help.
