You nailed it.

I'll just add that I'm probably the only person West of the Indus Valley who thinks that the Western powers should give the Taliban a chance to back their news conference up with deeds. I think the immediate sanctions now being imposed are a mistake.

Let's see what they do, of course, and, not what they say, but they've had 20 years to evolve. Maybe they have. Probably not, but give them a chance to demonstrate their intentions.

Either way, 20 years was 19 years and 11 months too long.

The U.S. had no business trying to turn Afghanistan into a clone of Western democracy.

A lot of people assume that all the U.S. lives and energy spent there was wasted. I think not. I think women have made significant progress in Afghanistan and that they aren't going to go down quietly, and I think the Taliban, who if nothing else know the pulse of their country, realize this.

Don't get me wrong. I realize the Taliban could start beheading people in stadiums again tomorrow. If they do, I believe they will have a civil war on their hands.

Part of the reason the war contractors are screaming by the way, is because THEY controlled the drug trade. The silly action movies where that is part of the plot line may be silly, but they've got that part right. The contractors are not happy about this.

And if the U.S. wants to be the world's misogyny police, maybe they should start with Saudi Arabia, the number one exporter of world misogyny.