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US troop surge met in Afghanistan with cynicism and conspiracy theories
Despite Barack Obama's face featuring prominently on the evening bulletins on the various televisions positioned around one of central Kabul's large and grimy restaurants, tonight few of the diners were taking any notice of the news that an extra 30,000 US troops would be arriving in Afghanistan soon.
"It is just a political decision taken by the Americans, it has nothing to do with us," said one customer.
Those watching were skeptical about the chances of the surge bringing peace. "Wherever the foreign forces go they are attacked and it is the civilians who always get killed," said Mohamad Ashraf, an economics graduate, as he tucked into a dinner of fried mutton.
"NATO already has thousands of troops, far more than the Taliban, but they have been unable to stop districts coming under their control," said Ashraf, arguing that such success could only be explained by some sort of clandestine US support for the insurgency.
It is not hard to find conspiracy theories amid widespread disillusionment among people who have witnessed the steady deterioration of security conditions in the country since 2001.