What to do about Afstan? BruceR. responds to Shane Schreiber

First from Shane Schreiber (with link to Part 1),

The Third Way: Ending the Illusions in Afghanistan - Part 2

now the start of a post at Flit:

Today's... I don't know what this is, frankly

At serious risk of breaking the stones-glass houses rule, I feel compelled to write something here about another Canadian military online essayist.

The fellow behind this post has more relevant experience, with the military, with Afghanistan, and probably with life in general than I do. So please take my criticism of his writing with that in mind. It's his attempt at a big solution piece on What to Do in Afghanistan. The synopsis:

First, get the world to legalize the consumption of heroin. Check.
Second, get Karzai and Abdullah to form a national unity government. Um, check.
Third, get the Karzai-Abdullah government to introduce conscription and mass-enrol Afghans into the army and police. (...)
Fourth, get Pakistan to "reclaim control" of its FATA territories. (!!!)
Fifth, get Afghan and Western forces to "consider the Durand line irrelevant" and chase Taliban onto Pakistani territory whenever required and thus deny them a safe haven. (!!!!!)

If you do all that, on a "tight and non-negotiable timetable" it will not mean victory, but you will have bought Afghans their "last, best chance," after which we can pull out.

I'm sorry, but reading that in this context is not unlike reading "first we need to breed a race of superponies...