Oh Yeah, We're in a War There Too

So, why can't the press focus on the "good news" coming out of Afghanistan? Uh--perhaps because they're mostly ignoring the country in general. Well, at least they are here in the US.

But, for those enquiring minds, Kop's Blog came across this article via NorBizness from the New Zealand Herald:

Excerpts: So the southern, Pashtun-speaking provinces that were once the Taleban's heartland are falling back into the hands of the resurgent fundamentalists.

Most of Zabul and Oruzgan provinces and half of the Kandahar region are once again Taleban-controlled by night, and US troops and those of the International Security Assistance Force have come under fire more often in the past three months than in all of the previous 15.

More than two dozen American and ISAF troops have been killed this year, a proportional loss rate worse than Iraq because of the far smaller number of foreign troops in Afghanistan.

US officials claim to be inflicting vastly greater casualties on their opponents - more than 400 Taleban fighters killed in September - but the fact that most of these casualties are caused by American airstrikes or by local militias leaves much room for doubt.

The militias have a habit of furthering their private interests by labelling their opponents Taleban, and the airstrikes are often inaccurate because the intelligence is so bad...

Senior UN officials have publicly doubted whether the elections scheduled for June will happen at all.

"There is a palpable risk that Afghanistan will again turn into a failed state, this time in the hands of drug cartels and narco-terrorists," warns Antonio Maria Costa, director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime...
Three predictions:

* No internationally recognised free elections will take place in Afghanistan next year (but some sort of charade may be arranged).

* US forces will pull out within three years.

* The Taleban will be back in power within five.

Under these circumstances, I suppose we COULD maybe focus on so-called "good news:" anyone wishing to invest in rubble and gravel futures should have plenty of opportunity, although there could be some snags both getting in country and moving the rubble and gravel out...