How long in Afghanistan?

Evidently, Karzai thinks another 15 years to do it right. And we ask ourselves, why Afghanistan? Why are we building their economy and military and government for them? Why not Turkemenistan, or Uzbekistan? Or a reasonable democracy like India?

Because they harbored the mastermind of the greatest recent attack on the United States. For this, we will spend a trillion dollars helping them.

I have a better idea. We agree to buy their opium at reasonable wholesale rates, resell it to druggies in this country and use the profits to provide free drug treatment to anyone who asks for it. Heroin addicts either get cured or die, and either way they stop costing money. And Afghanistan can't say it has no economy to support itself.

And we tell Afghanistan that we are not interested in their internal affairs, which they can regulate as they see fit. But if they allow terrorist plots to be hatched within their country, we will show up without warning at some Annual Taliban Convention and turn it into a smouldering heap of mud and brick. Provided they behave themselves, they can oppress their women and behave backwardly and we don't care enough to interfere.

We have more important things to do with a trillion dollars than drag Afghanistan kicking and screaming into the 17th century.