What would give Afghans confidence

Dick Cheney on Sunday, arguing that Pakistan and Afghanistan would suffer if the United States left Iraq:

"What's Karzai going to think in Kabul? Is he going to have any confidence at all that he can trust the United States, that, in fact, we're there to get the job done?"

What indeed would Karzai think? The U.S. has not provided him the support to "get the job done"--and the single biggest reason might well be the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Karzai is presumably less concerned with the symbolism of an American withdrawal from Iraq than he is with getting the diplomatic, financial, and military resources that his country needs (which remain tied up in Mesopotamia).

Moreover, Cheney's comments willfully ignore the fact that America's invasion of Iraq has put Musharraf at greater risk than ever, and that the continued Iraq occupation emboldens radicals in Pakistan.