Hagel argues that the U.S.'s alliance with some of these warlords is unavoidable realpolitik. "Foreign policy -- particularly wars -- generally are always about imperfect choices and imperfect relationships. Yes, we had to make arrangements and agreements with some pretty unsavory characters," he says. Moreover, each tribe has its own leader, "and we had to come up with a coalition government that would ... represent all the various factions. And as a result of that, there was an acceptance of a varied group of individuals that you wouldn't always think of when you think of Jeffersonian democracy." He argues against an attempt to try to achieve the perfect government -- "You were never going to get that," he says. Hagel underlines that this country poses complex problems -- ones not invented by President Bush.

Rubin doesn't necessarily think that more U.S. or ISAF troops are needed, but he does call for a countrywide disarmament. The problem, he says, is that the tribal rivalries ensure suspicion. Mohammad Qasim Fahim -- an ethnic Tajik -- is vice president and defense minister. But his troops have clashed with those of Abdul Rashid Dostam, the Uzbek vice minister of defense. "The leaders will not hand over their weapons to another faction," Rubin says. On his recent trip, a commander from eastern Afghanistan told him that his people would be willing to hand over their weapons to a national army supervised by international military monitors. "But no one is willing to provide those military monitors."

And just as these warlords have made Afghanistan less safe for everyone, so too is it all the more dangerous for women. After Operation Enduring Freedom began in October 2001, First Lady Laura Bush took a rare political role speaking out against what the White House records as "the brutality against women and children by the al-Qaida terrorist network and the regime it supports in Afghanistan, the Tablian [sic]" On Valentine's Day, the First Lady appeared on the CBS "Early Show," where she said that "one of the really happiest things about the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan was the sight of seeing girls getting to go back to school."

This accentuation of the positive may be good spin, but it is far from the whole picture. Khan is an improvement on the Taliban in some ways -- females can study, work and leave their homes without the compulsory accompaniment by a male relative, or mahram. But they are required to wear burqas or chadori, and they are prohibited from driving, participating in public forums and the government, and even visiting public parks at night. Women have been arrested and given "abusive gynecological exams," according to an Human Rights Watch report on women in western Afghanistan, "to look for evidence of recent sexual intercourse." And Khan is just one of the offenders.

"Despite positive developments regarding women's rights, intimidation and violence by regional and local commanders against women continue unabated," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported in March. "In many rural areas, especially in the more conservative tribal belt, the situation of women has not changed to any great extent since the removal of the Taliban."

Two weeks ago in Kandahar, RAWA's Matin says, "two girls had their throats cut, and there was a note left warning women not to go out without their burqas again."

"After being involved with Afghanistan for 20 years, I've learned to avoid mood swings," Rubin says when asked if he's angry at the inadequate international follow-through. "But I do get upset at the hypocrisy -- at the international community which lectures Afghanistan on what to do while providing no resources, and the United States in particular for arming these people and not taking responsibility for the consequences."

In fact, it does quite the contrary; the administration chooses not to discuss these issues, as if by not talking about them they do not exist. "The glass may be half full or half empty, depending on your point of view," Secretary of State Colin Powell said about Afghanistan's progress, on Feb. 13.

This insistence on a glossy sheen hasn't only spilled over into the Pentagon and the First Lady's office -- it has also, some say, affected Karzai, who many senators thought was giving an overly optimistic view of things in his February Senate testimony. Karzai disputed that the warlords and their armies were a threat to him. "The gentlemen that are appointed to the provinces as governors are appointed by my signature," he said. "And they can be removed with my signature."

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