The United States and Afghanistan have negotiated a security agreement that Karzai says the future government in Kabul must decide whether it will accept it or not. His regime has also been talking to the Taliban, trying to make peace with them.

American combat troops should leave Afghanistan, but the goal must be to seal the porous Afghan-Pakistani border with permanently-deployed Afghan and Pakistani soldiers, as well as U.S. drones, in order to prevent the Taliban from crossing and wreaking havoc in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. There cannot be significant economic, political, and social progress in either country, as long as the Taliban are able to destabilize both countries. There has been some progress, due to the presence of U.S. and N.A.T.O. troops, but I’m afraid the Taliban will have a safe haven in Afghanistan, as they do in Pakistan, after we leave.