Why has Pakistan been such a good friend (sic) to the US even this long? Presumably because Bush gave them an ultimatum on 9/12/2001 and they quite sensibly accepted its terms. Now, what about Obambus? Who knows.

What must we do to “win” in Afghanistan and/or Pakistan? I suspect that Obambus has an answer to that question, and it is along the lines of, we have to annoy them as much as they have annoyed us. And, use of the drones is just about the perfect answer in those terms, it’s like so many little 9/11′s, one after another, and not a d*** thing they can do about it except hide, hide, hide. Even for an Islamic jihadi that has to be disheartening after so many years.

Has the rest of our mission in Afghanistan/Pokistahn been coherent? Can’t say. Even our best thinkers (sic) apparently missed the total lack of secular infrastructure in Afghanistan, even in Iraq that had a semi-secular semi-infrastructure under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. The Europeans had it more right, that you could not expect anything of “those people”, savages, to whom George W. Bush decided to extend Christian charity and the western chance of self-determination and self-realization. However, not enough wanted it, or not enough would fight for it, or not enough could get organized enough to fight the Islamic traditions of murder and destruction of self and others. I presume *some* wanted it, and more would accept it, but I wouldn’t want to bet money on specific numbers.

So, future crisis? Heck, the crisis is now, and five years ago. The precipitating next crisis will probably be military action involving the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, would be my guess. Or alternatively, a second wave of financial defaults probably US-based, or most likely of all a wave of extreme inflation as trillions of chickens come home to roost.