Excellent propositions Colman! Personally have nothing against trying them but their execution will depend on people and given today's current crop of politicians and leaders, not to speak of an incredibly divided international community, who will or can do/execute them?

Re: "The author is writing as a representative and a member of NATO and "the West": it is in that capacity that I'm attacking him, as you should well know. "

OK, my fault; can't identify the author except that he joined NATO long after ISAF was deployed to Afghanistan. I honestly believe that he must be given credit for what he said about doing something in nation building; he's one of the military people I know who does not believe in a military solution being the only solution.