Anti-Subjugator

President Karzai has requested that the US stop house searches. I think the US should respect Karzai's wishes. There's only a handful of Taliban remaining. The US is now in a position to simply train more Afghans and stick with securing the border with Pakistan. It's probably time to get out of the Afghans' faces. The US forces should unofficially do Karzai's bidding. Let him take responsibility for any ramifications of denying house searches. The same way that the Iraqi Governing Council was made responsible for Fallujah becoming an insurgent haven. I know that the US military doesn't want to officially report to a foreign government, but it should unofficially do so, and merely help implement the wishes of the civilian government.

This is a new style of warfare for the US. Instead of doing a tradition "conquest" of a country - sending in sufficient forces to force something down the throats of the population - the US is instead just required to produce a series of EFFECTS. The Afghan and Iraqi campaigns have both been effects-based wars rather than wars of conquest. It has been an attempt to find out what happens when a certain amount of military force is used in a particular situation. It has truly been a wonder to behold.