Less than one in 10 Afghan men know of the 9/11 attacks and their impact of the war in Afghanistan. A survey by an international think tank shows that 92 percent of those surveyed had never heard of the attacks on US soil on September 11, 2001.
A report based on a survey by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) also shows that four in 10 Afghans believe the US is on their soil in order to "destroy Islam or occupy Afghanistan." The findings are based on interviews conducted last month with 1500 Afghan men in southern and northern Afghanistan.
The ICOS survey, Afghanistan Transition: Missing Variables, says many Afghans are still hostile towards the international community, unsure of its objectives, and unaware of or untouched by international development efforts. About 40 percent of those interviewed in the south believe the international forces are there to destroy Islam, or to occupy or destroy Afghanistan. More than 60 percent of respondents in Helmand and Kandahar believe that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) will be unable to provide post-transition security.
Over 80 percent of Afghans in the south are of the belief that Al-Qaeda would return to Afghanistan if the Taliban regained power, and 72 percent there said Al Qaeda would use Afghanistan to launch attacks on the West if they returned.
About 56 percent in the two southern provinces believe Afghan police are helping the Taliban and one out of every four said Afghan policemen end up joining the Taliban. Close to 40 percent thought that the Afghan National Army (ANA) was helping the Taliban and 30 percent believed that ANA soldiers end up joining the Taliban. Fifty-four percent in the southern provinces want ‘Pashtunistan’, an independent Pashtun state.
