Update to today's Holbrooke post; Long War Journal's latest analysis of al Qaeda in Afghanistan

> If you saw the post before 8:20 PM ET I added at the end an important opinion piece titled Gilani's remarks disrespect for Afghan sovereignty: Pakistani nationalists by tullah Kharotai at Pajhwok via e-Ariana on October 14. My observation was that Holbrooke was mindlessly parroting Gilani and that there were Pakistani leaders who didn't want their government to meddle in Afghanistan. The Obama administration, and the US military, need to consider those views -- and President Obama really needs to remove Holbrooke from his work on 'Afpak.' (Uck; that term still makes me shudder.)

> Long War Journal's Bill Roggio provides a very sobering analysis today of al Qaeda's activities in Afghanista:

A recently released al Qaeda martyrdom videotape identifies five foreign commanders who have fought and died in Afghanistan within the past few years. The profiles of these commanders reveal that, in sharp contrast to the current, official assessment of top US intelligence officials, al Qaeda has an extensive network in Afghanistan as well as a deep bench of experienced leaders. Also, the martyrdom statement shows how al Qaeda rotates its cadre of leaders to ensure that seasoned commanders are on hand in critical areas. [...]

Anyone who's trying to keep abreast of the war should read the entire report.