AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Even just reading the transcript, you could hear the anguish in the words of Gen. Scott Miller, the last U.S. commander in Afghanistan, as he explained to reporters in Kabul how he would manage the task of extricating thousands of remaining U.S. troops and contract workers from the country still riven by decades of war.

“The President of the United States and subsequently the nations of NATO have determined that we will end our military mission. As such, I now have a set of orders,” Miller said yesterday in the Afghan capital. “It's my objective to ensure that the Afghan security forces are in the best possible security posture, also that we will conduct an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan. And that means transitioning bases and equipment to the Afghan security forces and also charged with ensuring it is as safe as possible.”