New York Times on Afghanistan

NYT posts a good editorial in response to Bush's contention that Afghan president Karzai is not taking a leadership role in eradicating the heroin trade. Give me a break, the country's economy is completely dependent on the trade and as Karzai pointed out in response, the international community has not exactly been forthcoming in providing aid for alternatives to poppy growing.

The NYT takes on Bush's "breathtaking audacity " here.

...Washington waited almost two and a half years to heed Mr. Karzai's calls for help on this problem.

Even now, the Bush administration is disproportionately concentrating on the most visible, but least effective approach, forcible crop eradication, which merely moves the problem around and enriches traffickers by raising the price of their opium holdings. It is also creating turmoil in rural areas during the run-up to this year's crucial parliamentary elections.

Really. As if the revelations of prisoner torture by US troops isn't making it hard enough for Karzai to keep his government together. It gives you an idea of just how much trouble our government is in, when Bush touts Afghanistan as a success story.