I have been in Wardak province for almost a year now.  I am quite positive that the author of this article has not been in Wardak, and if he has it has only been for a short time and has not been in a position where his opinion is even remotely valid to include Kabul and Bagram air field.

Just because one article comes out stating that soldiers in Wardak are of low morale doesn't mean that the enemy is winning in Wardak.  In truth, the "locals fighting" here are people paid by foreign insurgency to fight Americans.  IED attacks are just about the only tactic being used to attack soldiers here because it is a method that can be employed by 1-2 people where they can hide from the people they are attacking without actually having to fight.  In few instances do the enemy utilize small arms to combat, and when they do it is from a far distance where the chance of effective retaliation is low.  From that far distance, their ability to be effective is extremely low as well.  In short, the enemy is in few numbers and is cowardly.

The people in Wardak are extremely friendly to Soldiers, and in reality I am one of the soldiers who has "handed candy out to children."  The problem with this article is that children have never hurled it back to me.  The "installed government" has been working with US money to better the lives of the people here and the people here have actively resisted insurgency and attacking of coalition forces which include Canadian soldiers, American soldiers, Afghan Soldiers, Afghan Police, and other organizations.  I have literally not entered a town during the 156 patrols I have been on that has not welcomed us in or explained to us their problems.

These people are actively supporting their Afghan government.  They go to the government with their problem and this government works from the provincial level to the local level to do all they can to help them.  In truth, it is a new government and there is still a reliance on other government support, namely from the Turkish government and the US government.  

The people conducting attacks are very, very few in numbers and are paid to do so.  Basically, the people attacking the government here are poor and looking for sources of income.  The extreme majority of people here are not attacking the Afghan Army nor the American Army.  

In truth, soldier's morale in some cases may be low, but this is the case for all deployments.  Any time that a soldier leaves home to go somewhere else that morale will drop.  Soldier's morale is lowered in places like Qatar, Kyrgystan, Africa, and Kuwait where there is no large media interest.

The people reading this article need to know that this author is gaining popularity because he is writing about an opinion which people who have not been to war, have not been to Afghanistan, and have not been to Wardak have.  Just because you are an armchair politician does not mean that you know what you are talking about.