After the Taliban: Nation-Building in Afghanistan

After Barack Obama won the election in 2008, a panel of his foreign advisors were on C-Span's BookTV. As they discussed the Iraq/Afghanistan conundrum, one of the panel told the audience, "Your assignment is to read Dobbins' _After the Taliban_." The book is only 179 pages (incl index, etc.), but it shows the reader what a problem resolving tribal issues will be. It's not going to be easy and requires all of the diplomatic skills a knowledgeable person can muster.