Afghans wary as NATO rebrands Kandahar "process"

While military commanders in Afghanistan try to play down an upcoming offensive in Kandahar, many residents in the southern province remain skeptical and fear they will bear the brunt of any assault. Afghan leader Hamid Karzai is due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama next week and the Kandahar offensive will be high on the agenda after a spate of civilian deaths caused a rift between Kabul and Washington. On the outskirts of southern Afghanistan's largest city, thousands of U.S. troops have been preparing to drive the Taliban from their spiritual home next month in what is being billed as the biggest military offensive of the 9-year-old war. The operation, involving at least 23,000 NATO and Afghan troops, is the central objective of U.S. and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal's counter-insurgency plan to turn the tide using reinforcements pledged by Obama in December. It's an objective lost on many Kandahar residents. "We don't know if this operation brings any advantages, but something we know for sure is innocent people will be killed, harmed and displaced," said Kaka Shirin, a Kandahar shopkeeper. Commanders are playing down the possibility of heavy fighting in the city, stressing the political aims of extending the reach of the Afghan state into an area of growing Taliban influence.