Making Sense of it All - The Situation in Afghanistan

Near Forward Operating Base Naray, Afghanistan. Flickr photo by soldiersmediacenter used under a Creative Commons license. The situation in Afghanistan seems to go from bad to worse to slightly better to terrible in the blink of an eye. What is happening, and not happening for that matter, on the ground is complicated and murky. James Kitfield’s article in the National Journal, Progress in Afghanistan Gets Rockier, offers a detailed and thorough account of what has been taking place there in recent months. Excerpt below:

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The CH-47 helicopter carrying Gen. John Craddock and his aides banks sharply, and the machine gunner positioned by the open rear door strains in his harness. The kaleidoscope below rolls from the verdant greens of the Helmand River basin to brown scrublands and then the bleached-white desert. Soon, the CH-47's shadow is joined by those of a Marine Cobra gunship and an armed Huey helicopter. They are escorting the supreme commander of the NATO alliance into one of the most isolated outposts in the global war on terrorism. It is the very heart of Taliban territory.