Enter
predominantly Pashtun provinces,”
in order to determine what “happened to support for ISAF once
an individual (or his family) was
harmed by ISAF” and whether the
same phenomena was experienced
when individuals were harmed
by the Taliban. Their overall research found that “Afghans who
experience violence at the hands
of NATO forces become less supportive of these forces and more
supportive of the Taliban. But Afghans who experience violence at
the hands of the Taliban don’t react nearly as strongly against the
Taliban.”
Lyall is cautious to point out
that one shouldn’t conclude that
“efforts to influence attitudes are
hopeless,” citing evidence that
“small, targeted assistance programs among those harmed by
ISAF managed to reverse much,
though not all, of the outflow of
support to the Taliban.” Neverthe