By the by...

...I know we’ve all been a bit busy lately. SARs, the whole Iraq thing, fighting with the French, higher taxes, the jump in the subway fare and the tolls, all that friggin’ rain this spring but...

...whatever happened to Afghanistan?

Weren’t we going in there to oust the Taliban, restore order and put the whole country on better footing (rebuilding the infrastructure, setting up schools, building hospitals)?

A year and a half after the U.S. military drives the Taliban out of power in Afghanistan, the country's foreign minister says the more than $4 billion in foreign aid pledged for reconstruction has not been fulfilled. In Washington, Abdullah Abdullah expresses concern that U.S. involvement in Iraq could mean less support for Afghanistan. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards talks to Abdullah.

So much for putting our money where our mouth is. It’s okay to spend billions to drop all the bombs we need on people though. Am I the only person who thinks this seems wrong for a country purporting to be the moral leader of the free world? High ideals are fine but they need to be backed up with compassionate action.

(then again, I look at the job we’re doing here at home and I can’t be surprised)