Afghanistan

I just finished "The Places In Between" by Rory Stewart, a narrative by a young Scottish man who walked across Afghanistan just after the Taliban was routed. It is a compelling book and certainly should set up a cautionary filter through which to view American plans to increase our presence there. The book was named one of the best by The New York Times in 2006.

A few months before, I read "One Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khalid Hosseini, the second novel by the author of "The Kite Runner."

We are militarily engaged in a country that is essentially tribal, has attitudes towards women and religion that are far different from what we perceive as normal. How do we relate to these people?

Just after 911, I worked with the women of a local mosque to produce an evening of Islam. One of the features of the evening--a film, a panel, and a variety of foods from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Egypt--was an opportunity to put on a bur qua. Let me tell you: it was humiliating and claustrophobic.

I was heartened this morning to hear Defense Secretary Gates hesitate and change his expectations for what "success" means in Afghanistan for US troops and for our country.