Remember Afghanistan?

One of my main problems with the war on Iraq was that it clearly distracted the country from finishing the job in Afghanistan. You remember, the place that Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban lived, that group that attacked and killed thousands of Americans on Sept 11, 2001.

Instead, we took our eyes off the prize, turned over much of the military operation to local "allies," and left.

Bad move:

Two years after the Pakistani Army began operations in border tribal areas to root out members of Al Qaeda and other foreign militants, Pakistani officials who know the area say the military campaign is bogged down, the local political administration is powerless and the militants are stronger than ever.

Both Osama bin Laden, who released a new audiotape of threats against the United States this week, and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are believed to be living somewhere in the seven districts that make up these tribal areas, which run for more than 500 miles along the rugged Afghan border and have been hit by several American missile strikes in recent weeks.

The officials said they had been joined by possibly hundreds of foreign militants from Arab countries, Central Asia and the Caucasus, who present a continuing threat to the authorities within the region.

Again, this is something we might have been able to snuff had we stuck around. Instead, things seem to be going from bad to worse, and one has to wonder how long it will be before suicide bombings in Afghanistan become news again here in America.