>http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/06/us.afghanistan.karzai/index.html
>
>This makes steam come out of my ears. Are eight years and untold billions of dollars not patience enough? Here is the leader of one of the most corrupt governments in the world, the "winner" of an election this fall that was so crooked it would have made the old Soviets blush, and he's lecturing us. Unbelievable.
>
>Someone please remind me why we care about Afghanistan beyond taking out the terrorists who are there. We can do that without having to put up with lectures from tinhorn dictators.

If you view Afghanistan as a black box, there are huge inflows of Western money and other resources. These would drop a lot with a troop pullout.

It's in the Afghan government's interest to keep the gravy train rolling as much as possible and as long as possible. It's in the Taliban's interest to bleed the West as much as possible and as long as possible. The interests of the Afghan government and the Taliban are actually aligned on this issue.

It would take a truly great Afghan leader to break this; and what would be the chances of his surviving long enough to accomplish anything significant?