Aid programs in Afghanistan should last for decades - veteran

The United States says it plans to launch a new military operation in Afghanistan to drive the Taliban from Kandahar, the country’s second largest city.

US officials say the ongoing campaign in Marjah in the Helmand province is a prelude to a bigger operation.

NATO says the Marjah offensive is almost over, with just a few weeks needed to take control over a few remaining villages.

Meanwhile, there has been a wave of terrorist activity in other parts of Afghanistan.

At least 17 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul on Friday.

A former US serviceman, Jake Diliberto, from Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan, said that obviously the American troops are going to leave Afghanistan one day, but Afghans will need projects for development, and unless the developed world helps with these projects, there will be no hope for a better Afghanistan.

“You could have all the victories in the world. You could defeat all the insurgents, but the real antidote to the problem is going to be development projects that will be sustained for decades, not the military occupation,” he said.

Jake Diliberto concluded that unless the Afghan population responds to the aid and development projects there will be no success on the territory.