Slapout wrote:

"Something else is going on in the backround, we are not going to do the traditional clear,hold and build. Just my opinion but he (POTUS) seemed like he didn't believe his on speech."

Get out your map, and look at the President's last major foreign visits/visitors.

It ain't that complicated, but it ain't in Afghanistan.

They don't call a pawn a pawn for no reason. Afghanistan itself is the sideshow to the Big Game about border turf and regional spheres of influence.

I don't know what cards are going to turn out of the deck in which order or hand, but it is pretty obvious which cards are in the deck. India, China, Russia to play against Pakistan 1 (military) and Pakistan 2 (civilian) and Pakistan 3 (Quetta), to play, in turn, against AQ, with Afghanistan as the pawn. The US wants to be the dealer, as long as its public will let them play.

Nobody has scheduled the Loya Jirga (with Taliban) yet, but ... the Tents are on the field.

Maybe even a regional international conference (I don't think they took the plastic off that deck yet)?

The deck is cracked open. We'll just have to wait to see the game play out.