Afghan public wants U.S. soldiers to disappear

ASADABAD, Afghanistan -- A shattering explosion rattled the windows Sunday at an Islamic relief organization. "It's the Americans," grumbled Bahader, a stocky, gray-haired employee. "Every day they are firing, searching homes, bothering people. Everyone wants them to leave," he said. With little fanfare, U.S. special forces have been scouring the mountains here in Kunar province, about 120 miles northeast of Kabul, for three months in search of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters and for anti-government militiamen loyal to former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The U.S. military has said little about operations in Kunar, focusing instead on missions in southeastern Afghanistan around the provinces of Khost and Paktia. However, for the people of this remote, mountainous province along the Pakistani border, the war is ever-present in the rumble of distant explosions and the faint roar of B-52 bombers passing overhead. And the U.S. operation is fueling hostility against the Americans, even among officials loyal to President Hamid Karzai who admit they asked the U.S. military to come here because of threats from Taliban fighters hiding in the mountains.

The Afghans complain that the Americans have relied on faulty information that has caused injury and death to civilians trying to live without getting mixed up in the conflict. That in turn is increasing support for militant organizations, including the Hezb-i-Islami movement of Hekmatyar, who has called for jihad, or holy war, against the Americans and who is suspected of involvement in last week's car bombing that killed 30 people in Kabul. Hekmatyar, who returned this year from Iran, is believed hiding here in Kunar, possibly forging an alliance with remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda. "These raids have made people angry," said deputy provincial intelligence chief Hassan, whose long, unkempt red beard is reminiscent of those the Taliban required of all Afghan males. "Everyone is afraid of them." At the crumbling Red Crescent Center in the heart of Asadabad, the Kunar provincial capital, a half dozen workers sat around on cushions and complained about the presence of U.S. soldiers, who live in a former Taliban barracks. The Red Crescent is the Muslim equivalent of the Red Cross. The circumstances of the blast that shook the building Sunday were unknown. Alamzir, who works at the center, said at least four people have been killed in coalition rocket attacks on suspected Taliban and al Qaeda hide-outs -- including a teen-age boy bringing his cow to market. Earlier this month, elders from dozens of villages that cling to Kunar's forested mountainsides marched into town to complain to the civil administration about the U.S. special forces and to demand they leave. "No one wants them here," said Abdul Ahmed Safi, an official of the Kunar provincial government. "They don't talk to anyone. They drive around maybe six or seven vehicles together in a convoy stopping to search houses. Everyone is afraid of them." The U.S. military has confirmed that special forces are operating in Kunar but has given few details of their operations. Despite public opposition, Hassan, the deputy intelligence chief, said he was convinced the Taliban would attack if the Americans leave. "Just before the Americans arrived, the administration received a message from the Taliban to leave or they will be killed," Hassan said. "If the Americans wouldn't have come, they would have attacked. The administration asked the Americans to come here."