Sixth footnote to the post titled “An Orientalist Dream”

If there is any moral to the story per se, the moral of the story is that the biggest mistake any analyst or elite decision-maker can make is to underestimate the importance and significance of Afghanistan and the role it plays in world affairs. Afghanistan is not only an important and significant issue in world affairs, but arguably, it is the most important and significant issue in international affairs. It is as plain and simple as that.