Putting the 'I' in Aid.

THE top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, is right to warn that efforts to rebuild that country depend on winning the ''struggle to gain the support of the people.'' And few issues do more to stoke the resentment of ordinary Afghans than the tens of billions of dollars of foreign aid from which they have seen little or no benefit. They see legions of Westerners sitting in the backs of S.U.V.'s clogging the streets of Kabul and ask themselves what exactly those foreigners have done to improve their daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]