"The five-year rule of the Taliban, exceptionally harsh even in a land governed for decades by bloodletting, came to an official end today as the last Afghan province slipped from their control. Their fractious opponents, due to start governing in two weeks, agreed to bury some of the many feuds that could jeopardize peace, but the two men most wanted by the United States continued to elude capture."

Their fractious opponents inspire little to no confidence from me. Are we really expected to believe that someone like General Dostum is going to end his reign of "bloodletting and war" now that he will actually have even more power than before? I loved the irony in this sentence: "The Friendship Bridge between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, closed for years by enmity and fear, opened today and a first shipment of aid came across."

The fall of the Taliban is indeed good news and we should all rejoice at it; however, I have very little confidence in Afghanistan acheiving a stable and peaceful future for itself.