i learned about an expression in pashtu, and if anybody speaks pashtu, correct me, and it is "how are you," and after four hours you run out of things to say and "how are you," and keep going. afghans are pretty good at talking and negotiating for quite a long time until they reach what a good negotiator does, a solution that nobody is particularly happy with but sort of works for everyone and keep things basically ok. right now what we are seeing in kabul is a total breakdown in the process. i know this morning the abdullah camp pulled out of an audit that was to untangle the vote and the deal that john kerry had brokered. and now ashraf ghani's guys have been told, well, you guys go home, the u.n. will continue this without you. it is beginning to feel like where do they go to from here? the election is working, president karzai is leaving next week -- to where, who knows? if he really is. you are approaching a situation where the fields that the worst-case scenario for afghanistan, and i don't say that lightly. i know a lot of the western press can be or is perceived to be unduly p

i learned about an expression in , and if- in pashtu anybody speaks pashtu, correct me, and and it is "how are you," and after four hours you run out of things to say and "how are you," and keep going. afghans are pretty good at talking and negotiating for quite a long time until they reach what a good negotiator does, a solution that nobody is particularly happy with but sort of works for everyone and keep things basically ok. right now what we are seeing in a couple is a total breakdown in the process. i know this morning the abdullah camp pulled out of an audit that was to untangle the vote and the deal that john kerry had brokered. and now ashraf ghani's guys have been told, well, you guys go home, the u.n. will continue this without you. it is beginning to feel like where do they go to from here? the election is working, president karzai is leaving next week -- to where, who knows? if he really is. you are approaching a situation the fields that the worst-case scenario for afghanistan, and i don't say that lightly. i know a lot of the western press can be or is perceived to be un