David Corn on the gap between Bush's rhetoric and reality in Afghanistan: "The reports from Afghanistan, at least the ones I get, are very encouraging," he said. "You know, we've got people who have been there last year and have been back this year [and they] report a different attitude. And they report people have got a sparkle in their eye. And women now all of a sudden no longer fear the future." Sparkle in their eye? Does that information come from the sensitive intelligence reports Bush receives from the CIA? Bush should get out more--or, at least, read the newspapers (which he says he does not). The recent news from Afghanistan has been rather sparkle-free. Here's a sampling. Financial aid to Afghanistan has been paltry, despite Bush's earlier promises. Measured per capita, financial assistance to Afghanistan has been lower than for Kosovo, Palestine, Haiti, and Rwanda, according to the Center on International Cooperation at New York University....Opium poppy production is dramatically on the rise, and poppy harvests are estimated to account for almost half of the gross domestic product...Attacks from the Taliban are up. Aid workers have been targeted, and nongovernmental organizations have pulled out of Afghanistan, slowing down the already slow reconstruction efforts. After five men who worked for the National Solidarity Programme, an NGO working southeast of Kabul, were killed, the group ended its work in 72 areas in the country...As for women's rights, Amnesty International reports, "two years after the ending of the Taliban regime, the international community and the Afghan transitional administration, led by President Karzai, have proved unable to protect women. The risk of rape and sexual violence by members of armed factions and former combatants is still high. Forced marriages, particularly of girl children, and violence against women in the family are widespread in many areas."...Recent talks between Karzai and warlords have raised the possibility of a power-sharing agreement between Karzai and these militia leaders that could undermine the democratic elections scheduled for September.