At times when it is expected that a bleak future is awaiting Afghanistan and this country is to fall into further chaos after the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014, the US government thinks it is on the right track in Afghan war. On Monday, August 06, in his address to the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Association of Defense Communities Location in California, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, continuing to be a challenge, is moving in the right direction. "We continue to fight a war in Afghanistan. And although it's headed in the right direction, we are still fighting and dying in that war," the Secretary said. 

The US forces are to return to their home in the next two years and this is exactly what the US citizens have been demanding since long. After 2014, neither US soldiers will be dying in Afghanistan nor will it have to spend huge amounts of money here.

And above all, America's no.1 enemy Osama bin Laden is no more alive and his network 'al-Qaida' has grown extremely weak in Afghanistan. From such a perspective: Yes! The war is headed in the right direction. But what about the Afghan people and what is their perspective?

With the diminishing military and financial support from the international community, chances of Afghanistan's political and economic collapse are multiplying. The country that – in the presence of US-led forces – is suffering due to the worst level of security and faces numerous serious administrative challenges would definitely fall into serious troubles.

An Afghanistan under insurgents' rule would also be troublesome for the region and the world. Afghan people are worried. Afghanistan's little gain in economy, politics, democracy, human rights and education seems to be at the stake of being lost. Afghanistan is standing at a crucial juncture. Any unwise decision could lead it towards further destruction.

The international community is leaving behind a government that is highly corrupt, weak and dependent. This phenomenon has caused the hopes of the people of Afghanistan to fade away. They have become disappointed about a stable future and remain concerned about what will happen the next day. The scenario, from Afghans' perspective, is not headed in the right direction.