NY Review of Books has two articles up online and both are must read.
Elizabeth Drew "Power Grab"
http://www.nybooks.com/...
That extraordinary powers have, under Bush, been accumulated in the "same hands" is now undeniable. For the first time in more than thirty years, and to a greater extent than even then, our constitutional form of government is in jeopardy.
Ahmed Rashid - "Afghanistan: On the Brink"
http://www.nybooks.com/...
It is now five years since George W. Bush declared victory in Afghanistan and said that the terrorists were smashed. Since the Bonn meeting, in late 2001, a smorgasbord of international military and development forces has been increasing in size. How is it, then, that Afghanistan is near collapse once again?