Afghanistan still a huge clusterfuck.

Much more at the link - [the other nine myths, obviously] - including disproving such claims as the "The Afghans want the US and NATO to stay in their country" and the mother of all deceptions - that we're there fighting Al-Qaeda.

Top Ten Myths about Afghanistan, 2010 | Informed Comment:

"10. “There has been significant progress in tamping down the insurgency in Afghanistan.”

Fact: A recent National Intelligence Estimate by 16 intelligence agencies found no progress. It warned that large swathes of the country were at risk of falling to the Taliban and that they still had safe havens in Pakistan, with the Pakistani government complicit. The UN says there were over 6000 civilian casualties of war in Afghanistan in the first 10 months of 2010, a 20% increase over the same period in 2009. Also, 701 US and NATO troops have been killed this year, compared to 521 last year, a 25% increase. There were typically over 1000 insurgent attacks per month in Afghanistan this year, often twice as many per month as in 2009, recalling the guerrilla war in Iraq in 2005."