From The Middle East Times:
Last week, Iran was invited to attend the international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague. This invitation was part of U.S. President Barack Obama plan to get Afghanistan's neighbors actively involved in being part of the solution rather than part of the problem. At that conference, Iran unsurprisingly criticized the occupation forces but said that it would help regarding the drug problem. The question remains: how much will Iran help?
After Pakistan and NATO, Iran is the most important player in Afghanistan. Iran has a long history with Afghanistan: Afghans settled in Iran hundreds of years ago. Today an estimated 2 million Afghans are believed to be living in the Islamic republic, but about 50 percent of them are illegal immigrants.
Read more ....
Part 1 is here.
My Comment: This entire region has been experiencing distrust, hatred, war, poverty, and suffering for centuries. I am very skeptical that NATO intervention will change the dynamics for what has been the status quo for all this time .... but maybe .... just maybe .... in a few places there will be a spark for reform and progress, and we will be able to see it in the next few generations.