Without security, Afghan women are still in chains.

I strongly backed the war in Afghanistan. Bush oversaw a smart and decisive war, and when I strolled through Kabul after its liberation, I was never more proud to be an American. Yet now I feel betrayed, as do the Afghans themselves. With just a hint of follow-through we could have made Afghanistan a shining success and a lever for progress in Pakistan and Central Asia. Instead, we lost interest and moved on to Iraq. Banditry and chaos are rampant, longtime warlords control much of the country, and the Taliban is having a resurgence. The rise of rape and banditry has had a particularly devastating effect on women. Afghanistan's girls are still being kidnapped, raped, married against their will to old men, denied education, subjected to virginity tests, and imprisoned in their homes. Change was never going to come overnight. But we should have started the process of change, above all, by providing security. We failed them.