Afghanistan: British commander says "we're not going to win" war against Taliban

Barely a week ago the Taliban took credit for murdering Afghanistan's top woman police officer, Lieutenant Colonel Malalai Kakar, head of the police department's crimes against women division in the city of Kandahar. Now a Reuters article quotes a British military commander as saying the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan cannot be won militarily. The same commander goes on to suggest political-diplomatic negotiations with the Taliban. He is not alone in his assessment, but also quoted in the Reuters article, Afghan defense minister Abdul Rahim Wardak declared, "I think this is the personal opinion of that commander..." Wardak again: "The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war of terror and be successful." There must be a reader out there who has a good idea of the current Euro or dollar value of Afghanistan's most recent opium poppy crop (the raw material for heroin). Carlotta Gall's Oct 3rd New York Times article carries a plea for crop replacement from Gulab Mangal, the governor of Helmand province where the bulk of Afghanistan's poppy crop is produced. Notwithstanding the current, domino-like U.S. and global financial collapse, I wonder how many U.S. lawmakers are hearing news of the police officer's murder, as well as the words of the British commander and Mr. Mangal?? One hopes more than a few, at the very least.