Monday, your narrator heads off to Afghanistan again. I'll be there for three weeks, primarily doing some training work with local NGOs. I will also have the chance to meet with some of the UN offices and some government officials. I'd better have interesting things to say . . .

Security in Afghanistan is, of course, still tenuous, though Kabul is largely safe. It is interesting to note, but not entirely unexpected, that security in Kabul has actually improved with the current US offensive along the Pakistan border. The Taliban are under enough pressure that they do not appear to have the capacity to engage in even limited offensive activities.

It is my impression that the Taliban, at long last and two years late, are on their last legs. It is crucial to not let them off the hook this time.

But, as good as that news is, it is important to be prepared for the violence which is likely to break out once the Taliban are known to be broken. Remember, the Taliban gathered their power in opposition to the warlords who were waging a brutal war of all against all. Many of those warlords are still alive and still have their armies - and are still motivated by their own interests and not Afghanistan's. Once the Taliban are done and their threat is finished once and for all, and once the Americans decide to reduce their forces and their role in the country, the warlords may well go back to business as usual. The recent outbreak of violence in Herat, for example, seems to be an indication of this.