I do want to take the opportunity to urge you to get Scott Horton's just-released book Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. It couldn't be more timely, and that is the least of its virtues: I'm reading it now, and will come out with a full review of it next week at some point, but I have to say that, as I turn the pages, I'm bowled over by the extent of Scott's knowledge, the originality of his analysis, and his attention to detail. I've been reading about this complex subject for years, but this is the most comprehensive and up to date treatment I've seen.

Just to give you a taste of it, here's a key section from the introduction:

"After more than a decade and a half, the results are in. The U.S. government has been unable to achieve its goals in Afghanistan. Even worse, what state it has been able to establish there is completely unsustainable and is certain to fall apart when the occupation is finally called off, and America does come home. The politicians, generals, and intelligence officers behind this unending catastrophe, who always promise they can fix things these problems wit just a little bit more time, money, and military force, have lost all credibility.