It's very interesting, the word “confidence”. The leadership in Afghanistan right now views the development of confidence in the Afghan National Security Forces as their centre of gravity, as their main effort.
In our work with the Afghans, in particular, in my experience, with the soldiers and the policemen and airmen who are working there, they're looking beyond the number of the insurgency who are killed on a daily basis. They are now looking at the comparison in the last 11 or 12 years, in terms of the extraordinary accomplishments, in terms of education and little girls going to school. We see that right across the country. I was fortunate enough to be able to travel across the country.
We see an economy that is beginning to flourish, not just in Kabul or in Mazar-e Sharif, but in other areas.
In their communications network there are 75 TV stations now, over 150 radio stations, and four Internet providers, two of them offering service that matches or is better than what I get at home.
When you look at the democratically elected government versus what was there 11 years ago, all of which is supported by 350,000-odd trained policemen and military, there is a burgeoning and a growing confidence in the Afghan people about their prosperity and their hope for a better future.