Everybody's favorite opium-soaked red-headed stepchild.

President Bush, 6/19/03: We sent a clear message to the Taliban in Afghanistan: if you harbor and train terrorists, you will be held account. The Taliban is no more, and the people of Afghanistan are free, thanks to America and our friends and allies.

Reality, 2/27/07: A suicide bomber killed 19 people and wounded 11 outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.

There's more recent Afghani history in my archives here and a harrowing first-person account of the nearly impossible counterinsurgency here. Afghanistan is but a poor fading star of multinational neglect when compared to the supernova of Iraqi failure, but still a glaring reminder of our war on terror half-assery. I guess we could try and get Pakistan to help out, what after (a) its top scientist sold nuclear secrets to every rogue state in the rogue state yellow pages (b) its intelligence service helped to birth the Taliban (c) it signed truces allowing for a regrouped Taliban safe haven, but:

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf insisted his forces have already "done the maximum" possible against extremists in their territory — and insisted that other allies also shoulder responsibility in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Sounds like somebody's been to Bush Administration Blame-Shifting Governance Camp!