THIS year has been the bloodiest year for foreign troops in the nine-year-long war in Afghanistan, with the US taking the brunt of the casualties with some 700 Nato troops — at least 475 of them American — who were killed in fierce battles with the Taliban aimed at clearing and holding areas under insurgent control.

The nine-year-long war in Afghanistan has raised many questions. Since the questions have varied a lot, as the US media raised the question, ‘Where things stand’ when it was started in 2001, then it got changed to ‘Why are we even there?’ and lately it was renamed, ‘Can we win?’

The variation in questions is attention-grabbing and tells us where the US actually stands after nine years of war in Afghanistan.

The Americans themselves do not sound contented with Washington’s strategies and have lost their interest in the war.

According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Centre, “only a quarter of Americans follow news about Afghanistan” and Tony Maddox, who oversees international coverage for CNN, has lately said: “Inside the United States, you’ve got audiences that are beginning to suffer from war fatigue.”

Last year President Obama announced that he was sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan with the goal of creating conditions that will allow the transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghans and let US combat troops start coming home in the summer of 2011, and the US plans to end combat operations in 2014 and transfer responsibility for the country’s affairs to Afghans.

However, it is said in a recent Nato Lisbon summit that “even after we draw down our combat forces, the US will continue to support Afghanistan’s development and security as a strategic partner, just as the Nato-Afghanistan partnership affirms the broader and enduring international community support to Afghanistan.”

So the governance seems to be a challenge in Afghanistan even in future. While the US analyst said that due to bloodiest casualties and ridiculous situation in Afghanistan most European allies would begin withdrawing their troops within two years.

As a result, he says: “the US administration is going to face a problem — the Taliban are stronger, the Europeans are leaving, so just to contain the Taliban, the US military is going to have to ask for more troops in 2011 and 2012.”

So, after all these ground realities, it is understood that now the question is not about winning the war, even it’s not about something that could be construed as a withdrawal with conditions, but it seems much more about escalation of the war.

MAIMUNA ASHRAF Islamabad