The Current Discussion: CIA Director Michael Hayden says al-Qaeda is more or less defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan. Should the Bush administration take credit? How much?

When wars are fought with an adversary who is largely invisible, how can one make the assertion that the war is over? CIA Director Michael Hayden says the war against al-Qaeda is over –“more or less.” Now if ever there was a wishy-washy statement, that is one. The question now is, is it “more” or is it “less”? The entire gambit of media output coming from the Bush Administration on Iraq, Afghanistan and indeed the al-Qaeda is so distorted and mixed up. At the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq there was no al-Qaeda in Iraq. In the ensuing months, as the management of Iraq literally fell apart under the worst public management ever done by Mr. Paul Bremen and others, an insurgency against the U.S. flared up. This was, and is, a domestic movement, nothing to do with al-Qaeda or others. While some attacks have been attributed to and even claimed by the al-Qaeda of Iraq, this was largely a splinter element. Thus, to defeat the al-Qaeda is not consequential in Iraq. What is consequential is the larger issue of managing the country and bringing about order in a country where insensitivity to the aspirations of the people has led to the worsening of the situation.

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The Current Discussion:A new poll finds widespread mistrust of world leaders. Are trustworthy national leaders a thing of the past? If not, who's an exception?

Over the past few decades there has been a dearth of world leaders. Perhaps that’s because we are not producing Statesmen, only people who want to lead on their own terms. Maybe it’s because our expectations of these leaders exceed their capabilities, or perhaps the divisive nature of the world political scene is such that you have to either be 'for or against' someone or something. I used to believe that people deserve the leaders they pick, but as time has gone by I have realized that not all leaders are chosen and those who are in some electoral system are often then result of well-contrived political machinery that can even manufacture consent (a la Bush).

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The Current Discussion: The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan. Rather than sending more troops, is it time to negotiate a truce there?

Back when the Americans began the invasion of Afghanistan, if someone would have said that one day they would have to negotiate with the Taliban, he or she would have been called mad and such an event would be considered an impossibility. While formal discussions for a truce may not be on the cards just yet, there are a number of local Taliban commanders who have negotiated settlements with the government of Hamad Karzai. The reality of Afghanistan is not about the Taliban; it’s about how this war-ravaged country has sought internal order, and steeped in the history of resisting occupation. After the defeat of the Soviet Union, it became apparent that the warring Mujahideen factions, without exception, had agendas supported by countries in the region and were perhaps the single most-decisive factor that encouraged the growth of the Taliban who were fiercely independent of others, even though Pakistan may be encouraged their formation.

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