[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

The problem is that we are antagonizing our allies and in the course of abolishing our intelligence service. We are making the CIA so untrustworthy that other nations will not share their intelligence with us. Their seems to be some evidence that Pakistan is finally stepping up in the frontier areas as a matter of national survival. In addition the Afghan Army soldiers seem to be becoming more effective and more numerous so there is a prospect of being able to pass the job to them.

AConcerning corruption I do not give a damn, it has been their way of life since before Alexander the Great. As far as supporting democracy, enforcing women’s rights and fighting poppy growers these are all nice things, but not worth fightting a war about!

[nathanbedford]

I share every one of your concerns, Lucius, especially since I believe that ultimately the war against Islamist terrorism is a war which will be won or lost strategically because we have succeeded or failed to the Muslim world to our cause and, tactically, because we have won the war of intelligence.

NTHockey, putting aside the morality of nuking anybody, I do not see how nuking Waziristan would make America one ounce safer from the greatest threat which is the detonation of a nuke in the homeland or the release of a biological agent which can be accomplished by a coterie operating out of anywhere in the Muslim world.

I can well understand how one would have only short shrift for politicians who treat brave Marines like pawns. I think most of us honor your son's service. But even if the Marines do all the Marines can do, what does it avail if we have no strategic goal because we have no defined war aims?

[lentulusgracchus]

Our interest there has always been fairly simple, and we should keep an eye on that.

We didn't go there, as you point out, to transform Afghanistan into a clone of West Germany ca. 1959. Nor would that seem to be either necessary to our purpose nor particularly helpful, since it would require too much energy and treasure.

Rather, leave the place with a government that won't tolerate Al Q'aeda hanging around, training terrorists and hatching plots and messing around with poison gas and uranium and atomic-bomb blueprints. That's all.

That's all we need to prevent a repeat of 9/11.

If Afghans want to grab the gusto and build their mountainous country into the new Switzerland, let them.

[TomasUSMC]

that other nations will not share their intelligence with us.

VERY GOOD POINT