AFGHAN UPDATE: The Taliban are trying for a comeback. This is nuisance-level stuff, but (as Osama would have realized if he hadn’t suffered delusions of grandeur), nuisance-level stuff is in some ways more effective than big, splashy attacks.

The way you beat it is to show that people who side with the bad guys don’t prosper, and people who side with you do. That takes patience and close attention. Are we providing that in Afghanistan? I don’t know. Here’s a not-very-encouraging story from the Christian Science Monitor.

I think that Afghanistan was relegated to holding-action status during the Iraq buildup because attention was on Iraq. But, you know, it shouldn’t stay in holding-action status because attention is on Iraqi reconstruction.

It’s likely, of course, that much of what goes on in Afghanistan has to do with various diplomatic efforts involving Iran (which is surely stirring up trouble there) and Pakistan (which is likely doing the same). Russia and China are likely interested in seeing that things don’t go too smoothly there, too. I don’t pretend to know what’s going on, but the Administration needs to make sure that someone does, and that we’re providing sufficient resources to get the job done.

UPDATE: Here’s more from Daniel Drezner.