"Downward spiral" in Afghanistan

For those of you reading The Kite Runner, gloomy news from Afghanistan. The Joint Chiefs Chairman says the situation there is very bad and will only get worse in the coming year:

The sobering forecast comes as a draft report by American intelligence agencies has cast serious doubt on the ability of the Afghan government to stem the rise in the Taliban’s influence there, and as the Bush administration has initiated a major review of its Afghanistan policy.