Some people believe that Iran has always been the goal of the multi-national oil companies. A quick check of a map shows that Iran lies right between Afghanistan and Iraq. And the US has a long, long history of screwing with Iran.

The Afghanistan mission is said to be the elimination of the Taliban. That is clearly impossible to do, and impossible to the tenth to do it by force. The US authorities must know that. It's not a mission, it's an excuse.

Catching OBL seems to be a low priority, and I don't think anyone wants to catch him. Public pressure to get out would increase. Another excuse.

If getting rid of the Taliban isn't a real, achievable mission, and OBL isn't the real mission, what is? What's the importance of a puppet regime in Afghanistan?

Iran. The problem is that the entire thing has been so mismanaged that Iran is coming out the big winner. And the US is losing lives, friends, prestige, and lots and lots of money. So far all that's coming out of it is Iraqi oil contracts with Western oil companies.

Arf