Using diplomatic language, Bush announces the US will keep just enough force to control the government, and abandon the remainder of Afghanistan to the opium growers and Taliban.

Oh, he makes it sound pretty, but the reality is the central government controls a city and a half and the President is still "guarded" by US Special Forces. Karzai keeps complaining about the training of al-Qaeda forces in Pakistan, but Bush will not put pressure on the Pakistanis to stop it. (They happen to be the same Pakistanis that are a military dictatorship and have spread nuclear technology all over the place. Bush's friends. Sort of like the Saudi's, who actually DID fly planes into the WTC, not the Iraqis. And the Saudis are Bush's friends, too.)

The most dramatic example will come by this summer, when the U.S. military officially hands over control of the volatile southern region -- plagued by persistent attacks from Islamic militias -- to an international force led by the NATO alliance. The United States will cut its troop strength by 2,500, even though it is not clear how aggressively NATO troops will pursue insurgents, who have shown no sign of relenting.

From the Council of Foreign Relations

"What is the post-election security situation in Afghanistan?"
"It is still generally unstable, experts say, despite a successful September 18 parliamentary poll, Afghanistan’s first free legislative election. Taliban threats to attack polling stations turned out to be unfounded, but experts warn that strikes against U.S. and NATO troops, civilian contractors, and other Afghans by Taliban and al-Qaeda forces are still a real and continuing threat. The United States had some 20,000 troops in Afghanistan for the elections, and another 13,000 soldiers from thirty-five countries are serving as part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). About 2,000 of the ISAF soldiers were temporarily deployed specifically for election security."

"What security challenges has Afghanistan faced in recent months?"
"A steady drumbeat of attacks from members of the Taliban has left more than 1,200 people dead in Afghanistan in the last six months, the worst death toll since the U.S.-led invasion in October 2001. U.S. and Afghan forces have been fighting the Taliban-led insurgency since then, but “the [security] trend since the presidential election [in October 2004] has been downhill,” says Peter Tomsen, U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan from 1989-93. He says the Taliban have become increasingly sophisticated in their training and are mounting ever-larger and more complex attacks. "

"What is President Hamid Karzai’s position on the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan?"
"On September 20, Afghan President Karzai challenged the need for major military operations to continue in Afghanistan and criticized U.S. military air-strikes and searches of private homes as ineffective counterterrorism measures. He said U.S. troops should shift their focus from Afghanistan to neighboring countries, where he said stopping militants from crossing the border or blocking their money flow and supply chains would be more effective at preventing attacks. This challenge follows Karzai’s request in May to have more Afghan government control over the actions of U.S. troops; U.S. President George Bush denied his request."