You cannot over estimate the power of domestic (US) political concerns. You did live through the Bush Administration, right?

I do think Kilcullen is a little better than Foust gives him credit for.

I don’t think this is apocalyptic, and I don’t think it’s arbitrary. It seems to me a considered assessment of likely political realities. Do you think the President is going to imperil his re-election campaign by continually banging his head against the Afghan wall if no progress is evident over the next 24 months?

More importantly, how long do you think the status quo is viable? I appreciate that you believe there are changes that can be made to the U.S. approach that would increase our chances of “success”; assuming they’re not made, how long can/will this go on?

And I’ve read Kilcullen’s earlier work. He’s been beating this horse for a long time on Afghanistan, since at least 2005. That doesn’t make him any more worth listening to.

On the Times article, it’s not an entertainment article – the Times website simply categorises all book reviews and book excerpts, regardless of whether they are international relations or celebrity gossip, under the ‘Arts and entertainment’ section. I hate lazy Lawrence of Arabia comparisons as much as the next person, but I think the article is as good as an account as we’re going to get in public of what happened. It’s certainly better than criticism based on unconfirmed suspicions. As for personal contacts, everyone who I have worked with who knew him had nothing but praise for him.

I know you’ve mentioned IDLG and ASOP several times here. That’s why I was surprised that you seemed to think that local governance councils and arbakai are diametrically opposed to the Afghan government’s strategy and the international nation building approach, rather than being an integral and growing part of it. Seth’s article was vague on the specifics, but no more so than most op-eds – and I think that’s a reflection of what the newspaper business wants, rather than on Seth’s abilities. As you said yourself, nuts and bolts articles just aren’t what they’re after.

As for Kilcullen, I’m afraid I just cannot agree that he is not far removed from the likes of Friedman. His career is based on experience in the field and published work, not on soundbites, and he had high-level advisory positions long before he started focusing on Afghanistan. There are a number of issues on which I disagree with him, but as I said above, if you think we have an unlimited time to turn the situation round – rather than a matter of a couple of years – then I’d like to hear why.

Since you ask, I’ve been a reader since it was Nathan’s Central Asia roundup on Winds of Change, and seriously appreciate all the effort the writers have put in since then. I’d just like to see some more constructive debate, and less personal attacks, than we have had recently.

I’ve been unable to get any British or Irish government types to respond to queries either about Musa Qala or Semple’s activities in Helmand. They just won’t answer questions. That is very suspicious to me, and tells me there is more there they don’t want to get out. Your defense of Semple amounts to an entertainment column comparing him to Lawrence of Arabia and the British government complaining about Afghan hypocrisy? Give me a break.

I’m quite aware of the IDLG and ASOP (and have written about them repeatedly here, if you’re such a long time reader). That doesn’t make Jones insightful, useful, or any less frustrating for his generic and misleading advice.

My discussion of Kilcullen relates specifically to his work in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he has indeed leveraged a career of making apocalyptic pronouncements and getting high profile advisory and writing gigs out of it. He’s not quite a Tom Friedman about it, but he’s close. The rest of his work is immaterial to this point—on these specific issues we cover here, he’s just wrong, starting with the ridiculous roads=peace meme last year and ending with how many six months Pakistan might have left before doomsday.

Lastly, if you are such a long time reader, then you know that I’ve been mixing alternate strategies, new engagement tactics, and different frameworks in along with all the criticism—for years. Like, since 2006, back when Iraq meant no one cared about Afghanistan. If you’re going to call yourself as a long time reader, then maybe actually read this site for a long time first before complaining about what’s not there.

Am I in a foul mood? Why yes, yes I am. It’s nothing personal.

And seriously, if you want coverage of something we miss here, you can either a) email one of us, or b) write about it yourself. I’m not superhuman, I have a day job that is not writing this blog, and I also like to sometimes leave my house. Don’t look to me for everything.