Everyone has their own problems. Everyone is being tried in these challenging times and being depressed by years of recession. I know Granny Doc, many other Kossacks, many other Americans, and many other people outside of the AfPak region couldn't give two shits about Afghanistan. I am fully aware of this. In many ways, I understand. For a very long time Iraq pulled attention away from Afghanistan, and then recession and other major issues pulled attention away from the war zones. The proud indifference proclaimed by Granny Doc is of no surprise to me, or probably anyone else on this site who follows the news from the AfPak region. It does not surprise me because I have long understood that President Barack Obama inherited so many major problems created by, and neglected by, the previous administration.
If Korea was the Forgotten War, Afghanistan is the Ignored War. A war won so easily and then gradually allowed to fall apart in ways that were hard to imagine possible. Just like in Iraq, the immediate "victory" in Afghanistan was followed by a failure just as spectacular- just as awing and shocking- as the quick and sudden defeat of the proclaimed enemy in the initial invasions. Only there was nothing quick or sudden about the civil strife that nearly tore Iraq apart. In Afghanistan, it has been a very gradual process accompanied by very extreme neglect. I understand the temptation to ignore it, and feel indifferent to it; it's hard to swallow the full failure of George W. Bush's presidency. Indeed, the full extent has not even revealed itself yet- we get a better and better idea of that failure with events such as an oil rig in the Gulf, in a coal mine in Appalachia, in a law in Arizona, or the countless of other problems who's importance we only learn of when it's too late.
Afghanistan:
U.S. and NATO commander General David Petraues has issued his first set of guidelines to the troops in Afghanistan. Amongst them is engage the Taliban in combat, engage the population in diplomacy(tea, no sunglasses, et cetra), fight corruption,et cetra. He also revised the rules restricting airstrikes, removing some limits.
Six children died in a suicide bombing that apparently went off prematurely in the southern province of Kandahar.
An IED wounded Afghan President Hamid Karzai's top aide on tribal affairs in the eastern province of Nangahar, specifically in Jalalabad.
Pakistan:
"Eastern Pashtunistan", also known as "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" and formerly known as "North-West Frontier Province", remains forever changed by the massive flooding. The death toll is above 1,500.
Clashes continue between the Pakistani military and militants in the Pakistani Taliban's "second home" of Orakzai tribal agency in central-FATA. The militants have offered a stiff resistance, especially in the northern part of the tribal agency bordering Khyber agency's Tirah Valley. A Pakistani military offensive into the Tirah Valley appears likely.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was seen as hinting that the U.S. could launch an operation against the Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well. The Haqqani network is currently rear-based out of North Waziristan bordering Khost and Paktika provinces in east/south-eastern Afghanistan. During Taliban rule, Jalaluddin Haqqani ruled over Paktika, Paktia, and Khost provinces in Afghanistan.
Maps:
When considering the situation in Pashtunistan, consider these maps of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is in the Pashtun areas where the U.S. and NATO have the most problems. It's important to note that while Pashtuns make up a much larger proportion of the population of Afghanistan than they do in Pakistan, there are still more Pashtuns in Pakistan than in Afghanistan. Here is a good map and rundown of the areas that make up the main warzone.