"THE CENTRAL ISSUE IS NOT TO HUNT MR BIN LADEN..."

As it appears, priorities seem to have been mixed up in Afghanistan. That is the opinion of Lakhdar Brahimi, one of the Afghan leaders involved in the initial transition of power after the fall of the Taliban.

Seven years later, he speaks to Radio Free Europe and asks the pertinent question if the coalition forces have lost sight of what they are doing in Afghanistan.

With no holds barred, he notes, " ...This nonsense about fighting terrorism in Afghanistan doesn't make any sense. If you help the people of Afghanistan, rebuild their state, international terrorism will disappear from Afghanistan overnight."

While critical of the current strategy in Afghanistan ( or lack thereof), he does recognise the value of General Petraeus.

"General Petraeus is a brilliant soldier and not only a soldier. I happen to know him. He was in the mission in Haiti with me in the early 1990s. He's a brilliant soldier, he's a brilliant strategist, but this is not for Mr. Petraeus to do alone. He has to do it with his allies. And he and his allies have got to do it with the people of Afghanistan. Strategies that are worked out in Washington or in Brussels, there are plenty of those. And they haven't worked."