Cole, you miss my point. This is not about who is on what team today or yesterday; this is about interests and the various parties who have conflicting interests that all converge in Afghanistan. Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Pakistan all conduct UW even now to work to shape situations to there benefit. As we should expect them to, as they all have far greater interests here than the US does.

There are no clean hands. The US has as much blood on our hands as anyone as we work to shape things to what we see as being best for our interests. It is my position that the intel guys and the ideologues have mischaracterized the situation in a manner that has us working toward a goal that actually puts our vital interests at greater rather than lesser risk.

As to the events in Uruzgan, that was indeed a tragedy that I am intimately familiar with. Mistakes were made. There are not many who can appreciate the position of the ODA commander, deep in Taliban sanctuary with a small team and a handful of contract security and ANSF, conducting an operation in an unfriendly village far from any fire support. Yes, the occupants turned out to be Hazara, but the area they were in was in no way a Hazara area. This was an experienced ODA on their second tour in this same area, and they knew full well how fast insurgent fighters can gather and mass once the word goes out. The reports the team leader had translated to him painted a picture of a force building that far exceeded the size of his own and a decision window to act and prevent being surrounded was closing fast when he made his fateful decision. The reports from the Pred and the pilots who had eyes on the convoy looked damming in cold calm analysis long after the fact by senior leaders sitting safely in their FOBs; but we'll never know what exactly was communicated to the one leader who actually had command on the ground.

Afghanistan will always be at the confluence of powerful forces with divergent interests. Adding our own inflated and I believe misguided perspective of our interests there is not helping.