As a direct response to the September 11 attacks, NATO acted upon Article 5 of the NATO Articles for the first time in its history. An assault that would pan out for longer than a decade was started in Afghanistan, the basic aim of the initiative being the removal Taliban from power, finding Osama Bin Laden & destroying Al-Qaeda completely.

Troops from 42 countries were sent as NATO took charge of a mission outside north Atlantic area for the first time in history. After the initial attacks, prominently Torra Borra & Operation Anaconda, NATO was given control of ISAF (international Security Assistance Force), and by 2006 NATO forces had expanded the mission throughout Afghanistan.

In May 2011, after the US-NATO led undercover operation in Abbotabad, the death of Osama Bin Laden was confirmed. One major milestone was achieved, though at the cost of numerous lives. There on, a plan to evacuate NATO forces from Afghanistan was endorsed during the 2012 Chicago Summit, it was agreed that all the troops will be removed from the Afghan Region by the end of 2014.

The initial step towards removal of forces from the region was taken by US when President Barrack Obama announced to call back 10,000 troops by the end of 2011, shortly followed by Canada’s withdrawal of all their armed forces from Afghanistan. Following them, France, Belgium and other countries who have also announced the removal of their army. Though the United Kingdom has voiced to follow suit, they have not yet specified the figures or timing. The long term plan is to evacuate completely the region when the timing and situation allow and hand over control to Afghan National Army.

Though according to an article in Washington Post, NATO is seriously considering the retention of some 350,000 troops in Afghanistan till the end of 2018, the ultimate and complete withdrawal is eminent. The topic is being thought upon in lieu of the current unstable situation which the Alliance wishes to resolve before they leave.

The total strength of roughly 450,000 (as of October 2012) army men fighting against the Taliban has a fair share of ISAF and other Alliance forces, and it is being viewed that the removal of forces may leave the country in a state of mayhem. The expected general atmosphere is being viewed as dangerous, and some of the analysts are of the opinion that US & NATO together have failed to deliver.

For starters, Afghanistan has no air force and so forth they have been relying heavily on the external military aid for containing the insurgencies. Afghanistan on their own is hardly up to the mark in matters of wealth or expertise, shown evidently by the fact that out of the latest 68000 new Afghan recruits, 48000 have quit.

According to Pentagon, out of Afghanistan’s 23 Brigades only one is capable to work on its own. The situation is being taken as highly volatile as the country’s looming economic distress. Military slackness coupled with the looming fear of “re-talibanization” will hardly amount to a desired outcome.

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After the controversial sign he posted in front of Domenico's Ristorante in Cranberry caused a stir in the community (including on the Cranberry Patch site), owner Michael Pollice has had a change of heart. "I like to push stuff as far as it can go," he said. "I will never do that again, because it hurts people."

Pollice, who is known in the community for his thought-provoking – and sometimes controversial – signs, erected a sign last week that said "Flying Remote Control Airplanes into Muslim People at the Mall is My Thing."

The sign, which received local – and even national – media coverage ignited a firestorm of responses that ranged from support of Pollice's message – which he said was a joke – to defense of First Amendment rights to downright outrage and disgust.

In just a few days time, Cranberry Patch received close 100 responses from readers giving their opinion on the issue. Many threatened to boycott the restaurant.

According to Pollice – who said business at the restaurant actually increased – the responses at first inspired him to poke back (which he did in the comment section of the Cranberry Patch article) and to push the envelope even further. By Saturday, a new sign he posted in front of the restaurant read, "If This Sign Offends You, Call a Dead Soldier's Parents to Complain."

Then a phone call changed his mind.

Pollice said Asim Kokan, a board member of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, asked him Wednesday for a face-to-face get together to talk about the sign.

Pollice agreed to the meeting, which also was attended by Kazim Reza, a member of the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh and a local realtor, Scott Rudolph, a pastor with the Unitarian Universalist Church in Franklin Park and Donna McNamara, an active member with the North Hills Anti-Racism Coalition.

Pollice said he had never before spent time with Muslims, and doing so changed his attitude. After explaining he thought of the sign as a joke, he and the visitors got along fine. "Those guys were great," he said. "They could have been jerks to me."

Pollice added he apologized numerous times to the group – and even offered to hold a fundraiser at the restaurant to benefit a new mosque for the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh. The association currently rents a space in Wexford.

"I think it was good thing for me," Pollice said of the meeting. "I'm better for the experience."

Unsure at first of what to expect, Reza said he also was pleasantly surprised at the meeting. "He was very calm and very apologetic for hurting the feelings of Muslims and others," he said of Pollice.

The McCandless resident – who moved from India to the United States in 1954 to attend college – said the group learned about the Domenico's sign from an email a woman originally sent to the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh that was forwarded to other mosques around the area. "She felt is was very, very inappropriate," Reza said of the emailer. "She felt hurt. She felt it was totally uncalled for."

Part of CAIR's mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, which is why the group – which meets up for North Hills Anti-Racism Coalition events – scheduled the meeting with Pollice. Reza also invited anyone with an interest in learning more about Islam to attend prayers at MAP's mosque in Wexford.

"We do not stop anybody. Anybody can come," he said. "You only have to follow the basic disciplines of the mosque."

As for Pollice, he said the incident wouldn't deter him from posting quirky signs in the future. By Thursday, he had a new sign up that he said shouldn't offend anyone – except maybe marine life. It reads, "Dolphins are Just Sharks Who Watch Glee."

Cranberry Patch, 1 June 2012

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