This BBC story wonders what the U.S. has to show for its four-year-old occupation of Afghanistan -- one that Canadian troops are involved in.

Some excerpts:

With no end in sight to the insurgency led by remnants of that regime and insecurity still holding back development in large parts of the country, it is a question that many more people are asking.

There has been significant political progress, with the election of President Hamid Karzai last year and a new parliament due to convene next month after September's vote.

But it is almost as if this is happening in a parallel universe, some say. There is no sign of it translating into peace.

As the year nears an end, bombings and shootings continue almost daily in the south and east.

Such incidents have claimed at least 1,400 lives in the past year - the highest toll since 2001.

New terror tactics

A rise in suicide attacks, for which Afghan officials believe al-Qaeda is partly responsible, is causing particular concern.

A spate of suicide bombings have rocked the country

Since the spring, evidence has been mounting of a renewed drive by Osama Bin Laden's network to revive its influence here - particularly in eastern Afghanistan.

But it is only when the violence reaches Kabul - such as two recent suicide bombings - that the situation gets any significant attention from outside. ...

The BBC spoke to a number of Afghan police and security officials around the country and in Kabul, as well as to international workers in different fields.

Mullah Mohammad Omar turned down an amnesty suggestion

All those in government positions requested anonymity.

"We are very worried now," said one senior police officer in eastern Afghanistan.

"The Taleban and al-Qaeda tactics are getting more threatening."

An Afghan ministry of interior official said: "It does not help that the police and Afghan military institutions are still weak. Police salaries are still very low."

One senior UN official said: "We never imagined we would still be talking about a Taleban insurgency four years on.

"We have got to admit the current approach is not working."

The official US view is that things are on track. "Security is getting better every day," is a line that frequently emerges from the "talking points" American spokesmen use in their briefings.