Rubin on Hostage Release, Drug Policy in Afghanistan

Here's some light reading for your Labor Day weekend. Afghanistan is pretty clearly becoming a problem for the US diplomatically and militarily of a major sort that would be front page news if it weren't for the even more deadly horror show in Iraq.

Barnett Rubin weighs in on the release of the Korean hostages and the Taliban's ability to negotiate directly with a government and get pledge of troop withdrawals. (Scroll down). The top post is another on drug policy. Afghanistan has become the world's largest produce of the poppies from which heroin is made, and the threat of narco-terrorism looms large. Rubin makes suggestions about what should be done (hint: not just burn the fields).