I don't think the Palestinian people or Afghan children or some other things I'm concerned about are at the top of other people's agendas - not right now, when America is going through such a recession and people are suffering across the board financially. But I think all that will change.

As a 22-year Army Veteran who served in Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, and as a Civilian Advisor to the Afghan Army in Operation Enduring Freedom, I understand both the gravity of giving the order, and the challenge of carrying it out.

We all hoped in 2001 that we could put in place an Afghan government under President Karzai that would be able to control the country, make sure al-Qaeda didn't come back, and make sure the Taliban wasn't resurging. It didn't work out.

We've got to see a state where the Afghan government can handle its own day-to-day security.

Afghan, Afghan, fghan, Afghan, Adfghan, Arfghan, Atfghan, Agfghan, Avfghan, Acfghan, Adghan, Arghan, Atghan, Agghan, Avghan, Acghan, Afdghan, Afrghan, Aftghan, Afgghan, Afvghan, Afcghan, Affghan, Aftghan, Afyghan, Afhghan, Afbghan, Afvghan, Affhan, Afthan, Afyhan, Afhhan, Afbhan, Afvhan, Afgfhan, Afgthan, Afgyhan, Afghhan, Afgbhan, Afgvhan, Afgghan, Afgyhan, Afguhan, Afgjhan, Afgnhan, Afggan, Afgyan, Afguan, Afgjan, Afgnan, Afghgan, Afghyan, Afghuan, Afghjan, Afghnan, Afghqan, Afghwan, Afghsan, Afghzan, Afghqn, Afghwn, Afghsn, Afghzn, Afghaqn, Afghawn, Afghasn, Afghazn, Afghabn, Afghahn, Afghajn, Afghamn, Afgha n, Afghab, Afghah, Afghaj, Afgham, Afgha , Afghanb, Afghanh, Afghanj, Afghanm, Afghan .

I mean, honestly, we have to be clear that the life for many Afghan women is not that much different than it was a hundred years ago, 200 years ago. The country has lived with so much violence and conflict that many people, men and women, just want it to be over.

We as the Afghan people and government are willing to help Pakistan work for peace in Afghanistan and work for peace in Pakistan, together.

And across Afghanistan, every single day, Afghan soldiers, Afghan police and ISAF troops are serving shoulder-to-shoulder in some very difficult situations. And our engagement with them, our shoulder-to-shoulder relationship with them, our conduct of operations with them every single day defines the real relationship.

There are tens of thousands of interactions every single day across Afghanistan between the Afghan troops and International Security Assistance Force. On most of those, every single day we continue to deepen and broaden the relationship we seek.

But the war on terror as I have repeatedly said in the past, and the Afghan people believe in it, in truth, is that the war on terror is not in the Afghan villages or homes. Its in the sanctuaries, it is in the training grounds, its in the motivation factors and the money that comes to it.