"Pat,
As always, I greatly enjoy your blog and greatly appreciate your hard work keeping it going.
I have a simple question I would like to see posed to the wise people for discussion on your blog under my by-line of WP.
What would happen if the U.S. immediately ceased all aid and subsidies to Pakistan, burned all of its bases, equipment, and embassy in Afghanistan, and put all American troops, personnel, and contractors on planes back to the U.S. so they all arrived in time for Christmas? Or, to put it another way, what would be the consequences of an immediate, total, and absolute withdrawal from Afghanistan and Pakistan?
It is time for the U.S. radically to rethink its approach to the region.
JP"
