Afghan activist warns against more troops

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 10 (UPI) -- Sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan will not stabilize the war-torn country, an Afghan activist said Tuesday.

In an appearance on the "Democracy Now" radio program, activist Rangina Hamidi disputed claims by U.S. President Barack Obama that more American forces in Afghanistan will quell the violence there. Instead, she said, "this is a political situation."

As for the notion that there are "moderate" Taliban members the military needs to reach out to, Hamidi said that is misguided.

"If it's a moderate Talib who's not actively fighting a war, meaning not blowing himself up or not encouraging others to blow themselves up, then why do we necessarily need to waste resources and time in talking to them?" she asked.

Obama has said he plans to send 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to help end the 7-year-old war. The problem, Hamidi said, is civilians become victims by being forced to house and feed insurgents and then being hit by coalition bombing.

"The common people are stuck in the middle," said Hamidi, president of Kandahar Treasure, the first women-run business in Kandahar.

As for government corruption in Afghanistan, Hamidi said it is flourishing even after years of international involvement in Kabul.

"After seven years or eight years of the international community's involvement, to be a very severely undeveloped nation, with poverty still on the rise and corruption still very much as part of an integral part of the current government that we have," she said.