You come across as a very bright, sensible and considered person. If your thinking was dominant on both sides this part of the world wouldf be making progress like Europe.
You are in better position then I so I wonder if you can explain how things have changed in Afghanistan post 2001. Has there been sea change? Is the underlying dynamic changed from the 1990s? Has there been a shift in thinking of the majority? In other words are is on the whole society in a post Taliban phase? Thanks.
Thank you!I have followed your posts and we mostly agree that a pan-region development is the need of the day, backstabbing and thriving alone won't work , we need to thrive as a region.
My point of view about the changed Afghanistan : In summary.
In my opinion most the most important change has been Education, Afghans are most educated now then their entire history, some estimates put literacy rate around 65 percent, up from around 30 a decade or so ago, those millions of kids who were enrolled into schools are now adults and have some sort of education, access to Television, Social media and they understand that there is more to life than killing each other. If you ask them do you want the return of the Taliban or do you want the current government with its all its flaws majority will opt for the later of course.
There is a strong civil society, that is very active and keeps the government accountable, and then of course there is a very vibrant media that criticizes the government for its ills and the government complies.
Furthermore thousands of young Afghans who went abroad and studied there and have returned, they brought not only new skills but also understanding of the dynamics of the world. For instance I studied abroad, with a bachelor from one European country and a Masters from another, I am back to Afghanistan because I see that there is future in this country, and I am as competitive as my peers from the neighboring countries.
These are fundamental changes that have happened in Afghanistan in the last so many years and those supporting the Talis fail to understand that Afghanistan has changed and their money is on the wrong horse.
PS : Of course there are lots of challenges, no doubt about it but I see more positives than negatives.
Stuck in the 70s ? It was the army chief that handed out the olive branch to Ghani after the APS massacre. Nawaz was no where in the picture. It was the army that drove out the Haqqanis from Mir Ali. It was the army that involved the Chinese and American as guarantees and pushed the Taliban for peace talks.
If Afghanistan has really changed then what are the American boots still doing there ? The truth is that the ANA is not strong enough to take them on its own. American knows this and that is why during the state visit they pushed us for initiating peace talks once again
Thank you for your post, I just put few lines on how Afghanistan changed above, hope this helps.
Stuck in the 70s ? It was the army chief that handed out the olive branch to Ghani after the APS massacre. Nawaz was no where in the picture. It was the army that drove out the Haqqanis from Mir Ali. It was the army that involved the Chinese and American as guarantees and pushed the Taliban for peace talks.
If Afghanistan has really changed then what are the American boots still doing there? The truth is that the ANA is not strong enough to take them on its own. American knows this and that is why during the state visit they pushed us for initiating peace talks once again.
" This year alone, thousands of Afghan troops and police have lost their lives, as have many Afghan civilians. At the same time, Afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be. They’re developing critical capabilities -- intelligence, logistics, aviation, command and control. And meanwhile, the Taliban has made gains, particularly in rural areas, and can still launch deadly attacks in cities, including Kabul." Obama's statement in November 2015
14 Years After U.S. Invasion, the Taliban Are Back in Control of Large Parts of Afghanistan
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/world/asia/kunduz-afghanistan-taliban.html
As I pointed out earlier of course there are challenges, no doubt about it. A year ago there were over 100 thousand American and Nato boots on the ground who were doing the main fighting. The ANSF took charge this year and kept the enemy at bay, the Talis, The Haqqanies and of course the ISIS, while most of the American boots are gone. Next year the ANSF will do much better when the Air Support gets better, they will learn from their mistakes.
Compare the ANSF with Iraqi army which had much better equipments and they literally run away from the fight, so considering all the caveats I say the ASNF and Afghanistan has done better, don't you agree ?
you do realize that putting military in decision making, your practically turning Pakistan into a security state, which is brining yes more Nukes, buying F16s but how big of difference has it made in the life of a common Pakistan is something to think about. 
