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The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks with almost worldwide support.

Thousands of American and foreign civilians had died, and there was little doubt who masterminded the attacks - Osama Bin Laden.

But eight years later the war has devolved into supporting or not supporting a Karzai government that may or may not have been legally elected and that may or may not last a month without the U.S. military

Get Bin Laden or get out, President Obama

That may mean disengaging from the Taliban if they are willing to look the other way while we concentrate on Bin Laden.

I have no sympathy for the Taliban's sharia law or any other fundamentalist dogma, but we cannot save Afghanistan from itself. And we cannot save the Karzai government from its own people.

And if a cold, practical assessment determines that U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan cannot capture Bin Laden, then we should call the posse back home.

Most indications are that Bin Laden, assuming he lives, is now on the Pakistani side of the border. It may be that we need some presence of the Afghan border to keep Bin Laden from recrossing it should the Pakistanis succeed in tracking him down.

But whether Pakistan has the heart or the ability to find Bin Laden is doubtful. And they are unlikely to invite us in for large-scale operations.

So let's be realistic, Mr. President.

Sixty years ago, Gen. Douglas MacArthur warned us not to get involved in a land war in Asia. We did in Korea, and helped create North Korea. We did in Vietnam, and lost. Let's make Afghanistan our last Asian war.

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