On the outskirts of Kabul, at the foot of snowcapped mountains, stands a haunting reminder of how far this land has fallen. The Royal Palace of Afghanistan is an empty pockmarked ruin surrounded by dirt trails and goats.  While it is true that the Soviet Red Army caused great destruction in its invasion and occupation of this land in the 1980's, most of the catastrophic damage one can find around Kabul was self inflicted.
 
A bitter civil war took place throughout the 1990's after the withdrawal of Soviet forces. Many of the political parties I work with today are linear descendents of various groups that fought the Soviets and then fell upon each other. We are asking them to put the past aside and work together, especially in the face of the threat posed by the reconstituted Taliban.
 
"We have some hope, and some hopelessness," said one Afghan leader to me when discussing their political scene. "The shift in US attention away from us, to Iraq was unexpected. Obama's strategy has brought new hope that we are not forgotten."
 
We can make a difference here, but in the end, it will be up to the Afghans. Can they begin anew? I'm told that the new Parliament will rise close to the site of the bombed-out palace. "Insh'allah," I say. God willing.