U.S. Hands Part of Afghanistan to NATO Control

NPR

Published July 31, 2006 at 4:00 PM EDT

With a symbolic changing of flags, the command of troops in southern Afghanistan shifted from United States to NATO control Monday. NATO will now lead forces from 37 countries in six southern Afghan provinces. That area has seen a major resurgence of the Taliban -- and the worst fighting since the Taliban was overthrown in 2001.

Melissa Block talks with the BBC's Alistair Leithead, who attended the ceremony at Kandahar Air Field. Leithead says that while the U.S. mission has mainly been to fight the insurgency, NATO forces will work to expand the goals, helping to bring development and better governance to the southern provinces.

Still, the challenge is daunting. "They're very lawless places," Leithead says, having been run by warlords for years.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Donate