I agree that it's going to take much longer than two years to do anything in Afghanistan - but the big question for me is what do "we" actually want to do (help the people or just keep on playing The Great Game?), and is what we're doing now the best way to achieve it?

Is ongoing military action in Afghanistan going to have any positive effect, or is it just a stopgap to try to keep another radiacal Islamist governemnt from forming there - and what do "we" do about Pakistan? Iran? What if Indonesia does become Islamist rather than just a Muslim-majority republic?

Do we just go on invading countries that are Islamist, and watch as each succeeding military action makes more Islamist converts?