Not time to relent on Afghanistan

Spurred on by discussions on a new strategy in Afghanistan currently taking place in the United States, debate is heating up in Denmark over the sense of the country's mission in Afghanistan. The daily Berlingske Tidende writes that the country should hold firm in its course: "Democracy can't be built in a day, and you can be sure the Taliban and al-Qaida are closely following our debate from their hideouts on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Danish deployment has its price: soldiers and reconstruction measures in Afghanistan, as well as an extensive aid programme for Pakistan. We give 18 million euros in aid payments to Pakistan. Critics can maintain that Pakistan can afford to pay that money itself. But this two-fold committment is the result of the government's holistic approach. We come in with military means, reconstruction measures and aid programmes. This is the right approach, and we should support it any way we can. Otherwise things will take a turn for the worse."

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