The General is talking about military progress in our latest offensive west of Kandahar. This is very important and good news but unfortunately, only tells half the story. Political progress by the Afghan government has, if anything, regressed. Massive fraud in recent elections, the blocking of investigations into corruption, and now the negotiations with "moderate" elements of the Taliban point to our relative weakness in making Afghanistan into something resembling a real country with a functioning government.Nevertheless, first things first; and that means progress in seeing to the security of the country: The progress in Kandahar City's western fringe is shaping up to be an important part of the case Petraeus plans to make, during crucial assessments of the mission this fall by NATO and the White House, that international and Afghan forces have regained the momentum after years of losing ground to the Taliban.The governor of Kandahar province, Tooryalai Wesa, drove...(Read Full Post)