Sent to me by my soldier:

Our Ticket Out of AfghanistanThe Afghan National Army is a powerful force for upward ability and national stability.

By Anne ApplebaumPosted Monday, Feb. 9, 2009, at 7:56 PM ET

Afghan army soldiers President Obama wants to send 30,000 American soldiers; the Germans have promised more money; the Poles have just taken charge of a province; even the Dutch are thinking of keeping some men on the ground. This is all very well, as long as everyone realizes that the long-term solution to Afghanistan's security doesn't lie in soldiers sent by Washington or Berlin but in the ones who can already be found on a square of dusty desert a half-hour's drive from Kabul.

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