The Beeb has coverage of a recent seminar in London on Afghanistan. One speaker was Norine McDonald of the Senlis Council, which put out a provocative report last fall.
However, that's old news. Check out what Dr. David Kilcullen, chief strategist in the Office of the Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism at the US State Department, has to say.
"The fundamentals, the bones of the situation, in Afghanistan are quite sound," he said.
"Challenges remain and will have to be tackled but the prospect for success remains good."
He said that the Taleban offensive of last year had failed. It had a narrow base of appeal and most Afghans supported the Karzai government.
He conceded that the Taleban were "the toughest enemy anywhere and I have seen the enemy up close. They are professional as a military force and also as a subversive force."
Most Afghans support the Karzai government, says Dr KilcullenHe also rejected the suggestion that opium production should be licensed.
A "hearts and minds" strategy, he said, did not mean that you simply had to be nice to the civilian population.
"You have to persuade their hearts that it is in their interest that you win but their minds that you will win. Gratitude does not work in Afghanistan. You have got to get them to make a choice.
"The Taleban has a political strategy of defending the poppy fields, in order to detach the people from the government and we have to counter that."
It was at times difficult to accept that the speakers were talking of the same country but Dr Kilcullen declared to a sceptical questioner: "I am not painting a rosy picture but simply the facts."
Incidentally, the New Yorker did a profile of Kilcullen. It's worth reading.