What is this ancient Chinese invention?

Photo by Miss Mita on Flickr.com.

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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is touring Europe, the Middle East, and Afghanistan this week. Mr. Obama is calling for a political solution to the crisis in Iraq, and renewed U.S. attention to our "other war" -- the fight against the Taleban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

He is quite right on this issue, in my opinion. The situation in Iraq will probably be ugly whenever U.S. troops leave, whether it's sixteen months from now, or sixteen years. However, Iraq has the resources (especially with oil at $130/barrel), to put itself back together again.

Afghanistan, in contrast, is dirt-poor. Its one significant cash source is opium poppies; the Afghan government and NATO troops have been working hard to eradicate the fields, leaving farmers with few options.

The United States also has a significant moral obligation to help Afghanistan. Between 1979 and 1989, the U.S. and Soviet Union fought a proxy war on Afghan soil. Both sides trained and armed Afghani fighters. After the Soviet withdrawal, the U.S. pledged aid to help stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan... but we failed to follow through on that promise.

The result? A vicious, multi-faction civil war, which ended in the Taleban take-over of the country in 1997. The Taleban provide a sanctuary for Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda movement, and the rest is history.

We cannot afford to repeat this mistake. We owe it to the long-suffering people of Afghanistan, and to our own security, to get it right this time.

Photo of Barack Obama and Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq, July of 2008. U.S. Army / Getty Images