Eric Umansky: Opportunity Cost Check-in

>[Eric Umansky: Opportunity Cost Check-in](http://www.ericumansky.com/2006/06/opportunity_cos.html): Opportunity Cost Check-in Two years ago, James Fallows wrote about the things the administration chose not to do in lieu of invading Iraq: The first front in the war on terror, Afghanistan, was left to fester, as attention and money were drained toward Iraq. This in turn left more havens in Afghanistan in which terrorist groups could reconstitute themselves; a resurgent opium-poppy economy to finance them; and more of the disorder and brutality the United States had hoped to eliminate. With that in mind, I bring you the A.P.'s latest dispatch from that first front on the war on terror: BAGHRAN VALLEY, Afghanistan, June 18 (AP) %u2014 United States soldiers descended on a mountain ridge on Sunday, quickly setting up fortified posts and mortar positions overlooking a major transport route used by insurgents linked to the Taliban, as the American-led coalition pressed a major offensive that has killed dozens of suspected militants. It was the first time in several years that soldiers from the coalition had ventured into the Baghran Valley, in the northern part of Helmand Province. If that's true, well, consider that the Bagrhan Valley has long been considered a Taliban stronghold and reported home of Mullah Omar. (Remember that guy?) Seems like it would have been a good place to put to some troops, eh? ---- >>[MarsEdit: Easy weblog editing](http://ranchero.com/marsedit/)