The U.S. government can't even solve the drug problem in its own country, even after arresting everything that moves and subjecting it the mandatory minimum sentences. What makes you think they can solve it in other countries? Especially when they've been trying to do so all over the world for the past four decades in places like Mexico and Columbia? The war in Afghanistan has dragged on for much too long. Unless we turn the country into a permanent U.S. base (though that seems to exactly what the military is doing (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/08/u-s-afghan-mega-base/)), the country will just fall back to its past once we leave. We've accomplished what we can there. Bin Laden is dead. Al-Qaeda has been fragmented and, as you pointed out, is moving operations to Africa. We need to get out now. Every day we stay is a day more Afghan civilians get killed and their relatives join Al-Qaeda to avenge them.