ISI chief knew whereabouts of Osama bin Laden's hideout: NYT

[Amal]

Re: ISI chief knew whereabouts of Osama bin Laden’s hideout: NYT

@CARLOTTA GALLMARCH

When I remember the beleaguered state of Afghanistan in 2001, I marvel at the changes the American intervention has fostered: the rebuilding, the modernity, the bright graduates in every office. Yet after 13 years, more than a trillion dollars spent, 120,000 foreign troops deployed at the height of the war and tens of thousands of lives lost, Afghanistan’s predicament has not changed: It remains a weak state, prey to the ambitions of its neighbors and extremist Islamists. This is perhaps an unpopular opinion, but to pull out now is, undeniably, to leave with the job only half-done.

It defines the predicament the US faces in Afghanistan. But I doubt if the job is even “half-done” because Taliban remain a potent force in the country and perhaps most relevant party today. Secondly, Afghanistan in no way is better than what it used to be. The labyrinthian dynamics of the country are still as complicated as ever and it’s not a safe place either — neither for itself, nor for the rest of the world.