John Ellis. Good article.

I was astonished at the time of the U.S. moving into Afghanistan. That a much more focused response to 9/11 attacks could have been achieved.

That said, we went in and owned it. And, now to simply cut and run is irresponsible and a tragedy. We had small gains in Afghanistan (particularly with the place of women) that we could have kept and touted -- but instead, we threw them away with our careless action. Hence we finish with ZIP or worse than. An action (as you well point out) leading to ambiguous security for the U.S. and democracy down the road.

America is part of the world of beauty, differences and challenges. This is an inescapable fact that many of us here have to get their heads around if we are to prosper.

Many thanks