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THE U.S. IN AFGHANISTAN

The prospect of a longer U.S. presence in Afghanistan and a broader role in settling disputes between rival ethnic factions and warlords meets with mixed emotions around Kandahar, the former stronghold of Taliban extremists ousted last year with U.S. assistance.

"Oh, boy -- would that be a mistake," said a U.S. military officer who interacts frequently with Afghans. "Sooner or later we'll be accused of helping one faction over another and become a target of resentment."

Comments that local Afghans have made recently to UPI, however, suggest the theory, at least, has some appeal.

"We know that if you are not here it will be like the time before. Everyone will be fighting everyone else," said Haji Abdullah Han, a village elder who lives about 15 kilometers southeast of the U.S. base at Kandahar's airport. "We know you are here to give us peace and a government we can trust."

The prospect of broader and longer U.S. involvement came up last week during a news briefing in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, suggested Americans could take on the role given the need for stability in the country and U.S. opposition to sending in specific peacekeeping forces or expanding the international force currently in the capital.

Until Khalilzad hinted otherwise, the United States -- while recognizing the necessity of stability -- has limited its intentions to training a national army. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced last Monday that up to 150 U.S. Special Forces soldiers would begin training a new Afghan national army in four to six weeks.

U.S. military headquarters for operations in the southern part of Afghanistan would not comment officially on Khalilzad's suggestion; their job is to obey whatever orders they are given. In private conversations with soldiers, however, most reactions are uneasy, misgivings about getting involved in domestic squabbles.

But sitting in his adobe-like house in the village of Haji Basher Kalay, Han said: "When you are not here, our government will not be able to do what is needed. Every group will try to get money for themselves. If American soldiers are not with Hamid Karzai, Karzai cannot do it. He cannot develop, he cannot spend."

Karzai -- leader of Afghanistan's interim government and like Han a member of the dominant Pashtun ethnic group -- is supported by Washington and the rest of the international community.

Much of the ethnic and factional rivalries that sketch the region's history were put aside when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and occupied the country for more than nine years. When the Soviets withdrew in 1989, however, the old patterns re-emerged. When the Taliban toppled Afghan's new government in the 1990s, it pledged an end to internecine warfare. Instead, fighting continued against opposition forces -- mainly the Northern Alliance, which was largely Tajik and Uzbek.

The alliance has been given key posts in the new interim government. Nevertheless, ethnic clashes as well as conflicts between warlords reportedly flare in towns and cities such as Khost and Marzar-e-Sharif.

-- How much further should the United States become involved in Afghanistan, and why?

(Thanks to UPI's Richard Tomkins in Khandahar)

ROSIE O'DONNELL

Rosie O'Donnell's candor on her sexual orientation resonates well with Americans. That's according to a Witeck-Combs/Harris Interactive Poll conducted online among 2,017 people, seven percent of which identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Three-quarters of those surveyed -- heterosexual or homosexual -- who are also aware of O'Donnell's disclosure that she's a lesbian agree that it had no effect on their feelings towards her. Eight out of 10 respondents also said her disclosure would have no effect on their likelihood to purchase brands that she endorses, with two percent reporting they were more likely and 18 percent saying they were less likely to purchase endorsed products. Almost nine out of 10 gays and lesbians (88 percent) said it made no difference, while nine percent said it would make them more likely to purchase.

Among Rosie's most popular audience -- namely American women between the ages of 35 and 44 -- when asked specifically if the disclosure about O'Donnell's sexual orientation would have a better, worse or would not change their opinion at all about her, 73 percent said it made no difference. Ten percent said it improved their opinions, while 18 percent said their opinions of O'Donnell had worsened.

O'Donnell made national news last month in her exclusive ABC News interview with Diane Sawyer, by speaking up for adoption by gay parents and revealing that she, herself, is a lesbian parent. O'Donnell is a celebrated television figure, actress and publisher of her own trademark magazine targeted to American women. In addition, she is well-known for her commercial endorsements and commitment to social and philanthropic causes.

-- What do you think?

(Web site: harrispollonline.com)