Sometimes this stuff just all falls together.

The west has created fertile ground for al-Qaida's growth/Guardian

The Taleban do not pose a threat to long-term stability in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai has said. /BBC

Stay in Afghanistan past 2009, NATO chief urges/Globe and Mail

Taliban vows to make Kabul its main targe/CBC

All in a neat little row in my feedreader.

Amazing isn't it? We barely hear about what is really going on in Iraq, let alone the deafening silence on how things are in Afghanistan.

Looks like we might be hearing a bit more in the future.