When Americans talk of “the war” these days, they mean the one being fought in Iraq, a war that has been percolating for three and a half years. But Americans – and a broad multinational coalition — have been fighting another war, in Afghanistan, even longer than in Iraq. As of last month, NATO assumed the control of operations in Afghanistan. For most of the American public, the Afghan conflict was almost forgotten for a while as the violence unfolding in Iraq grabbed most of the headlines, and, to be sure, the priority of the Pentagon. But more recently, the Taliban has been making a not-so-discreet comeback (along with the resurgence of opium), waging attacks against Afghan government troops and coalition forces. The almost-forgotten conflict is once again making headlines. The Bush administration decided to wage war in Afghanistan shortly after the September 11 attacks on New York and the
