14 June 2010 / AP, KANDAHAR
Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on Sunday on community leaders in Kandahar to support a NATO campaign to bolster security in this Taliban stronghold, urging people to work with his government to “bring dignity back.”
NATO has already begun an operation to ramp up security in Kandahar, and the campaign is expected to accelerate the coming months. Many of the estimated half-million Kandahar residents are skeptical of the operation, fearing it will lead to more bloodshed. Presidential spokesman Waheed Omar said Karzai would call the campaign a “process of stabilization” to bring better governance, services and new development to the area. During a meeting in a stuffy conference hall in Kandahar city, several hundred people including tribal chiefs and religious leaders cheered as Karzai denounced corruption among police and local powerbrokers. He pounded the podium as he said corruption was undermining security as his government and its international partners struggle to turn back a resurgent Taliban. The majority of the audience stood and raised their hands as Karzai asked for their support -- a move local officials considered an endorsement of the NATO campaign. Kandahar’s mayor, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, said he thought as many as 90 percent of those in the room backed the security campaign but some were loyal to corrupt figures and the insurgents. “Please give me your hand to bring dignity back,” Karzai said.
