Afghanistan--with Rice

The Secretary of State jumped the gun--no pun intended--in announcing the postponment of parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, inadvertently letting the world know just how much sovereignty Mayor Karzai holds. Insurgents had their own message for Rice and Karzai--a bomb went off in Kandahar, killing five and wounding thirty.

Rice is nothing if not consistent--it seems as if she STILL doesn't read material prepared by her own department:

She did not mention Afghanistan's drug problem until asked. Earlier this month, her own department issued a report that said burgeoning opium poppy cultivation placed Afghanistan "on the verge of becoming a narcotics state."

Ms. Rice called the opium poppy cultivation "a very serious problem," but also noted "a serious commitment to fight it."

No details were forthcoming on the "commitment." But on the other side of the poppy field, as it were, Afghanistan now accounts for some 87 percent of the world's heroin production, with approximately 300,000 acres in production. And security in the country is so bad that some folks actually admit they're nostaligic for the days of the Taliban:

Zahir Jan, 35, a stadium painter, said he longed to find a better job but would be satisfied with the government if it weren't for the kidnappings.

"Imagine how things are, that we are wishing for the Taliban again," he muttered.

No shit.