The divide between occupier and occupied

A week of protests and a week of bloodshed. There appears to be no end to the anger being expressed in Afghanistan over the burning of the Qur'an by US troops at Bagram Air Base. Despite repeated apologies from Barack Obama, the US president, and others in his administration, the incident is threatening to rip apart some of the fragile relationships that exist in the country. Already, many Western countries have removed civilian staff from Afghan institutions after two senior NATO officers were shot dead at the interior ministry. And NATO members are criticising Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, for not speaking out more strongly against the wave of apparent revenge attacks. But perhaps most significantly, the incident has exposed deeper roots to the anger - a resentment that has grown among many Afghans throughout the more than decade-long occupation of their country. Despite claims of progress, the US-led war continues to cause the deaths of Afghan civilians and the Taliban appear far from defeated. And, in the remaining battle for hearts and minds, the Qur'an burning incident has widened the divide between occupier and occupied. Even though the US is facing its biggest show of anger across Afghanistan in more than a decade, the US military says its mission remains undiminished and that they are working very closely with their Afghan counterparts on a daily basis. The American plan is to reduce troop numbers in the coming months with the intention of having all combat troops out of Afghanistan by 2014. They will leave a number of advisers to work closely with Afghan security. But, to have that type of relationship there must be trust and confidence. So, does the damage done to the relationship between the governments in Washington and Kabul endanger this trust? In more than 10 years of war, what has the US achieved in Afghanistan? Are we witnessing the final unraveling of the US-led war in Afghanistan? Joining Inside Story Americas to discuss this are: Paul Eaton, a retired major-general and a senior adviser with the National Security Network; Christine Fair, an assistant professor at Georgetown University who specialises in South Asia; and Mark Kimmitt, a retired brigadier-general and former deputy director at US Central Command who joins the show from Baghdad.