Meanwhile, In Kabul

Remember Afghanistan? Land of the Taliban, vacation home of Osama? Place where 300+ of our guys left their blood only to see their president turn his squint to Iraq? Yeah, well, things aren't going so well there, says a study chaired by a former Marine general and a former UN ambassador.

"Afghanistan stands at a crossroads," concludes the study, an advance copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. "The progress achieved after six years of international engagement is under serious threat from resurgent violence, weakening international resolve, mounting regional challenges and a growing lack of confidence on the part of the Afghan people about the future direction of their country."

A major issue has been trying to win the war with "too few military forces and insufficient economic aid," the study adds.

Too few forces and insufficient aid. This was the war that made sense. This is where Osama and the boys hatched their plans and spread Taliban insanity. This is the administration that has repeatedly told us that leaving Iraq will dishonor the sacrifice of the troops who died there. Bush either thinks the deaths of the soldiers killed in Kandahar province weren't real sacrifices or they aren't worth honoring or dishonoring either way, since the administration has had no compunction about sticking their fingers in their ears and la-la-laing away any recognition that the organization actually behind the 9/11 attacks is regrouping and operating at will both in Afghanistan and right across the border in our great ally state of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Dear Leader's rosy glasses are duct-taped to his face.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush called Afghanistan a young democracy where children go to school and Afghans are hopeful.

But he didn't mention the violence that has killed 147 students and teachers and closed 590 schools in the last year — almost as many as the 680 the U.S. has built.

Bush said the sending of an additional 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan — a decision made just this month — would help continue the country's successes. But it came only after U.S. officials couldn't persuade other NATO countries to send more soldiers to bolster the 28,000 U.S. troops already there.

This is the war we should have thrown everything at and finished in the first place. This is the actual enemy.