Although we, here in the USA, have more than enough patriotic volunteers willing to risk their lives to fight in any remote, rugged, undeveloped country you can find, we don't have the money to solve all the world's problems. In order to stabilize Afghanistan, we would need to remain there for at least several decades, as well as cut off the flow of religious zealots, adventure seekers, and terrorists, from all the surrounding countries. Our troops are among the best equipped, trained, and motivated that can be found, but they can't move at the speed of light, which would be necessary to seal off Afghanistan. I fear that, although President Obama thinks that he can transform Afghanistan into Iowa, he has made a very big mistake in making a comparison between success in Iraq (we hope) and a similar outcome in Afghanistan. Few in the West realize that Afghanistan isn't really a country as we interpret the meaning of the word. It is a collection of tribes with Islam the main unifying force. Like Christianity was the center of culture and government in Europe during the Middle Ages, Islam still is in Afghanistan. With 90% of the population illiterate, it will be very difficult to replace loyalty to the tribe and fellow Muslims, (a basic tenet of Islam) with loyalty to an unseen government viewed as being controlled by foreigners of a different religion. Good luck with that! Hopefully, when the US pulls out of Afghanistan, some radical Sunni expansionist government which will threaten stability in nuclear armed Pakistan and attack Iran, won't emerge. If a radical Islamic movement really mushroomed from such a secure base, it could threaten Russia and eventually, the entire world, a lot faster than most people think. I bet Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin figured this out a lot sooner than I did, as recent events suggest.