The British long ago in the days of rajahs and the British East India Company realized that victory in Afghanistan was fleeting. They never managed to hold the country, but only could keep the warlords and tribesmen in check by periodic incursions and massive retaliation when the Afghans came pouring down into the Northwest Frontier.

The Russians found this out, and the US should realize that we will never have a truly stable regime in Afghanistan. With Karzai, we do not even have a reliable puppet prince in power. If we pull out of Afghanistan, if history is any guide, there will be another civil war and the people who can kill the most innocent civilians will come out on top. Perhaps in alliance with Karzai, perhaps not.

I do not think the US will have a better track record here than its predecessors did, especially with the current administration. But we can keep Al-Qaeda from using it as a base if we play our cards right, and we have some leaders who understand there is no victory to be had in this land — and that is not losing.

“The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard–
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:–”