joining me now is michael bre rvetionreen, jim ha, co-author of cut down the black flag and thom thomas johnson of the program for culture and conflict studies. michael breen, let me start with you. is this the right move at the right time as i asked ambassador newman, and what remains as the mission? >> it's good to be with you ray. and this discussion has centered as it often does on the number of troops, how is the taliban doing? let's take it back here. there are three threats to the government of afghanistan, in order of authority, least to highest, taliban, then regional interference from the neighbors, and above all, the corruption of the afghan government itself. it is a lot easier to be an insurgent, when the government preys on its people.this is fundamentally about governance. and the military conflict is the symptom of a weak state. so what can military forces achieve if a state like this? there are a lot of things that armies can do. they can't deliver justice. that is a challenge for the certain government. what the afghan army can do is buy time for that to lap. >> professor john