Despite his umpteen follies, and in the face of a bogus election façade, Hamid Karzai has again assumed the presidency in Kabul.

Any US withdrawal from Afghanistan would create another delusion. A false conclusion that Islam has won and USA lost. It would boost morale in the Islamists and would lead to far greater chaos.

President Obama’s surge in Afghanistan might bring a reduction in civilian casualties and collateral damage from air strikes, but there are several important factors that threaten this strategy.