’Improve your own esteem in the world!’ This is the advice recently given by the French head of state, Mr Sarkozy, to the US secretary of state, Mrs Rice, when she asked him on behalf of the leaders in Washington what the US could do for him. And indeed it is necessary to take action, especially in Afghanistan. How to convince the local population that all the US-led coalition with its soldiers, advisers, and aid workers is after is to improve the lot of the Afghans? That is the question.