The capital however is under new management:

India’s Tripartite Plan for Afghanistan
Delhi is drawing closer to Iran and Russia in anticipation of a U.S. troop drawdown.

The American game is being played on a ever-wider field:

As Afghan Allies Reposition, U.S. Role Evolves

Amid the continuing violence in Afghanistan, the shape of the NATO alliance is changing.

At the beginning of August, Dutch troops left the restive province of Uruzgan, and Canadian soldiers appear set to depart next year. At the same time, the U.S. forces surging into Afghanistan are finding new ways to work with their NATO counterparts.

In Kunduz [north of the Hindu Kush], German soldiers are notionally in command of the incoming American surge…

…Speaking informally, U.S. military officers can be harshly critical of many of the NATO partners in Afghanistan — for example, in the north, where the Taliban presence has grown rapidly over the past five years. American soldiers in that area are officially under German command, but the difference in resources is stark — the Americans bring many more helicopters and mine-resistant vehicles to the fight.

Still, the cooperation has its lighter moments. In a recent nighttime engagement in Kunduz, a German officer ordered his cannons to shoot illumination rounds over the heads of American troops to light their way. The Americans joked afterward that it was the first time a German had fired artillery in their direction since World War II.

While Eric Morse ain’t happy about our end game:

We’re dooming our Afghan helpers

…more hypocritical yet: our immigration regulations may thwart sanctuary, but our refugee system welcomes. If those people can find a coastline in land-locked Afghanistan, if they can then find a ship, if the ship does not sink and if they do not starve, they can find refuge in Canada [see here and here] and never mind comparative levels of “extraordinary risk.” What does that say about the whole process? What, in Heaven’s name, does it say about us?

We have created a class of people in Afghanistan to whom we are beholden. Set aside hypocrisy, open the gates and let them come in.

Eric Morse is a former Canadian diplomat and is now vice-chair of the Security Studies Committee at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto.

More from Milnews.ca:

Weasel Wording = Dooming Afghan Interpreters

Update: Terry Glavin on threatened Afghans, Great Gaming (Team Iran in particular), and Orwell on refugees.

Upperdate: Paul at Celestial Junk (warning: some readers may find language offensive):

…
As if our limp-dish-rag PMO refusing to stand up for our Afghan allies and our troops isn’t insulting enough by its silence, we now have to contend with the fact that our PMO can’t even manage a proper retreat…

Mark
Ottawa