It WILL depend upon who is in the West Wing at the time the listed goals are attained, or whether the goals get railroaded out the window. Rebuilding Afghanistan to something that at least looks like a stable government might not be achieveable in what's left of the Bush administration. If he fails to be reelected, or fails to complete his current term, what happens?

At the moment, the DEMANDED exit stratengy is what as General Franks stated last Wednesday:

Franks said ongoing U.S. and coalition operations in Afghanistan are designed to:



* Gain and exploit intelligence information to pre- empt or disrupt planned terrorist operations;

* Positively confirm or deny and, if necessary, eliminate the existence of weapons of mass destruction inside Afghanistan;

* Conduct military operations to eliminate all remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban pockets of resistance in Afghanistan;

* Support the interim and transitional Afghan governments;

* Continue to conduct unconventional warfare operations inside Afghanistan until objectives are met.

Franks, quoting President George W. Bush, noted that the U.S military mission in Afghanistan will "take as long as it takes."





And that, my friend, is where we currently stand.

Dan