BOLDAK DISCUSSION - U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Mike C. Cancellier, left, listens as Habibullah, the governor of the Nad' Ali district, speaks to U.S. Marines and Afghan civilians during a shura in Boldak, Afghanistan, July 14, 2010. Cancellier is the commander of Bravo Battery, 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion. The shura village elders an opportunity to talk about the upcoming parliamentary elections and discuss agricultural, educational, and medical issues. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lindsay L. SayresKarzai's Newest Lie -- Stephen Kinzer, Daily Beast
The Afghan leader is treacherous, his government notoriously corrupt. Yet at Tuesday’s Kabul Conference, Western leaders blessed him, cheering his promise to have the war won by 2014 and pledging to send half their aid directly to his corrupt regime.
With the reality of the Afghan war so grim, it is perhaps logical that Western leaders choose to avoid it and take refuge in fantasy. Their partners in Kabul, eager for profit, encourage America's delusions. Rarely has this been clearer than when President Hamid Karzai promised Tuesday that he would have his country under full military control within four years.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Another India-Pak Impasse -- Sumit Ganguly, The Diplomat
We're Training the Next Bin Laden -- Ellen Knickmeyer, Daily Beast
Russia rethinking its strategic partnernships with the world -- Frank Ching, China Post
Myanmar's nuclear plans under fire -- Marwaan Macan-Markar, Asia Times
Brazil's Drug Problem Shaping Foreign Policy -- Roque Planas, World Politics Review
Do we really need white people to 'save' Africa? -- Jason Stearns, Christian Science Monitor
Cuban dissidents don't want sanctions lifted -- Jackson Diehl, Wash. Post, Washington Post
How about a leaner and meaner intelligence system? -- David Ignatius, Washington Post