Hope

Read today that some of the richest mineral deposits in the world have been found in Afghanistan. What a boon for the people there problem is as corrupt as the government is they will probably squander it. I do know that the war will intensify to gain control of the resources. I do hope the best for the Afghan people and maybe inshallah they will benefit from this find. Maybe now Karzi will let his military and NATO push the Taliban back into Pakistan and give his government some breathing room instead of the ticky tack stuff we have been doing. For those who think COIN operations are just hand holding they are wrong. So far we have not done one of the most important phases that is give the government breathing space. This is done by killing the terrorists that cannot be bought. However it will also depend on the Afghan government, military, and police to stop or at least minimize the corruption to levels that do not directly harm the population.