Another mission accomplished!

Published June 18, 2004 11:36PM (EDT)

After Bush's flightsuited "mission accomplished" speech, you'd think the president would be a little more careful about claiming victory when the mission still isn't anywhere near accomplished. On Tuesday, he deemed the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan the "first victory in the war on terror."

Perfect timing, because just today, Reuters reports that an Afghani warlord overthrew the provincial government in central Afghanistan following months of general disorder in the country. Pretending Afghanistan isn't a failing state won't keep the warlords at bay, but it just might reestablish central Asia as a breeding ground for terrorists.


By Stephen W. Stromberg

Stephen W. Stromberg is a former editorial fellow at Salon.

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