wes, as a former serviceman. we tog about the legacy of these wars and i will point out the cost, the war, $470 billion spent. nearly 2100 americans killed, 18,000 americans wounded. dexter filkens writes in the new yorker last summer, but i don t think the situation has changed, the war in afghanistan haas come to this, the u.s. is leaving, mission not accomplished. by the end of 2014 when the last americans are due to stop fighting, the taliban will not be defeated. a western-style democracy will not be in place. the economy will not be self-sustaining and it s a good bet in some remote valley, even al qaeda will be carrying on. ha do you make of that? and first, it s not like the costs are even going to end once the conflict ends. the va just put out a report saying they estimate around 20 veterans a day commit suicide. even when the fighting ends for the people overseas fighting, the war just begins for a lot of them when they come back home. in addition to that, it does come