re: #1 Thanos

Yon is correct we cannot afford to lose this because there is too much at stake. This is the first ground we took from AQ and the Taliban, and we can leave any form of gov’t in our wake that’s stable and able to keep them out. It’s preferrable to leave a democratic republic behind but that might be out of reach. That doesn’t matter as long as what we leave in place is strong enough to resist the Taliban and co.

It is even worse than the situation in Iraq. There are people there willing to fill in the power vacuum when we pull back. I cannot see that in Afghanistan right now. The Taliban is the only organized and powerful enough group to step up and take it if we leave. Can we really expect to see a strong national government in a place where tribalism is still stronger than nationalism?

You are dialed into this area, what do you think the USA should do to foster more good will from the local chieftains. That is the real power there, isn’t it?