$(document).ready( function () { talk_rendercallback({"enabled":"0","islive":"0","eid":5509,"total":"1","discussion":[{"nm":"Aaron","rs":"0","ms":"Steve\'s comments make it sound like the US is South/Central Asia\'s last hope for stability and prosperity. This view would be mildly amusing if it wasn\'t so insidiously dangerous.\n\nWe have had our troops in Afghanistan for 8 years now, and we have seen precious little in terms of stability or prosperity take root. On the other hand, we are not occupying India and somehow they are making steady progress in economic growth. India and Pakistan continue to have tensions, but I don\'t see anything NATO is doing in Afghanistan as alleviating those tensions. If anything it increases it.\n\nThe idea the Taliban are the main obstacle to stability in the region is also suspect. Before the US invasion, the Taliban had more or less taken control of Afghanistan. They didn\'t bring any prosperity, but they sure brought stability: just look how effective they were in curtailing the opium trade. Before that, however, Afghanistan had been locked in a chaotic civil since 1978. Yet, somehow, the region survived. I\'m not saying we weren\'t justified in driving them out- but it wasn\'t stability we were seeking then, it was the Al-Qaeda members who had taken up residence. In fact, it seems we made a good old mess of things. \n\nIt is time that we realized the limits to our power. We have tremendous ability to level regimes that threaten us (and those that don\'t), but to create a unified, stable, prosperous nation out of thin air, our powers are quite limited. We must realize that, as bad as the situation may get, it only seems to get worse when try to be the heroes.","pt":"Oct 17, 2009 02:26"}]}); });