GHAZNI, Afghanistan - It's no secret that the Taliban have become more active in Ghazni province, just two hours southwest of Kabul.

Its emboldened fighters have burned down freshly rebuilt schools, kidnapped workers on reconstruction projects, and planted deadly roadside bombs. In the last two weeks, the Taliban have burned the district headquarters in Maqur district and ambushed and killed the district chief.

So on Tuesday, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, flew by helicopter to the provincial capital to signal to local leaders that his patience was growing thin with shady district police chiefs and local officials who appear to stand aside while the Taliban run amok. He traveled to Ghazni with Afghan Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Muqbal, the official responsible for appointing governors and police officials.

At a meeting with about 50 tribal elders in the provincial governor's office, Eikenberry asked Gov. Sher Alam why he had imported militia members from outside the province to serve as police officers rather than hiring local recruits.

"If police come from local areas, they might want to fight harder to make sure their schools aren't burned down," the general said.

"Local people are unwilling to serve in police," said Alam, a former warlord allied with radical Islamist Abdul Rasul Sayyaf. Alam's appointment last year raised alarms with human-rights officials.

One of the tribal elders spoke up and said police officers deserved three times as much pay as the $70 monthly salary they received. With that, Eikenberry stood to deliver his speech.

"We've sent home a lot of our sons and daughters who died here," he told the elders. "But after five years, we have not become tired. This enemy will tire before we do...

"A year ago, Ghazni was safer than it is now. Why is it less safe? Because people are moving across the [Pakistan] border? We understand that. There are also not enough soldiers and national police here."

"Does a young man need that much money to defend his country?" he asked the elder who suggested the pay raise. "What about patriotism?"

The long-bearded elders, dressed in traditional turbans and long shirts, stared silently as the general recited a long list of reconstruction projects planned for the province.

"Can you hold a mirror in your face and look at it? Is there corruption here? Are people taking money from drug traffickers? Are corrupt police, corrupt local leaders opening the door for extremists in Ghazni?"

A few of the elders and officials stared at their shoes.

"The Taliban came in without a fight in the 1990s because people got tired of corruption and invited them in. Is history repeating itself? There is still plenty of time. We'll continue to fight with you. We're going to continue to build the police. We're going to work harder now to catch up."

Flying back to Kabul after the meeting, Eikenberry said that Ghazni was among the five least secure provinces in Afghanistan. The point of his speech, he said, was to let the local elders know Americans are not dumb.

"We don't want people down there to think we're so naïve we're supporting a corrupt police force."

What Eikenberry did not mention - but what is apparent to anybody in the province - is that the U.S. military is building a massive base in Ghazni province near the city of Galen, next to the country's most important highway, the Kabul-Kandahar Road. The promises made can now be fulfilled.

Fire Base Warrior, as it is called, will be home to the Fourth Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, a light-infantry unit being relocated to Ghazni from its old base in neighboring Zabul province. The unit was scheduled to go to Iraq, but was recently told its mission in Afghanistan is not over.

"We're pushing this out," Eikenberry said.