‘The Taliban launched a coordinated attack on the Afghan capital Monday, paralyzing the city for most of the day as militants set off explosions, took over buildings and attempted to disrupt the swearing-in of new cabinet ministers.’
The security of Kabul has been transitioned to Afghan forces, and many people in Kabul don’t feel very secure today. My pessimism comes from the rank corruption of the current administration, including the current conditions that so easily lead to corruption: poverty, geographical isolation, high illiteracy rates, tribal identities and loyalties, decades of war and economic incentive to grow and move opium, a porous border. The Taliban perhaps can be hoped to have some incentives to disassociate from Al Qaeda, but in many ways, not much has changed, including the logic of why the U.S. is there and why our troops have such a difficult and sometimes confusing mission.
Related On This Site: From Foreign Affairs: ‘Q & A With Stephen Biddle On Afghanistan’…
From March 27th, 2009 At WhiteHouse.Gov: Remarks By The President On A New Strategy For Afghanistan And Pakistan…Repost-From Michael Yon: ‘The Battle For Kandahar’…Dexter Filkins Book On Afghanistan And Iraq: “The Forever War”…Monday Quotations-Henry Kissinger
…Repost-’Dexter Filkins In The NY Times: The Long Road To Chaos In Pakistan’
