Forums: Do you trust the Northern Alliance?

Northern Alliance forces have reportedly captured the eastern city of Jalalabad and have taken the airport in the Taliban stronghold city of Kandahar. Afghans have been loudly celebrating the Taliban's retreat in the streets. But if the Taliban is completely removed from power, Afghanistan will enter a critical period of transition. With such political and social upheaval, maintaining internal security and protecting individual rights will be a tall order for whatever new government is put in place.

Our guests this hour are veterans of governmental transitions. What lessons can Afghanistan learn from Rwanda, South Africa, and other nations to ensure that justice is preserved during the difficult transitional phase?

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What should be the U.S.'s next step in the Middle East? Share your thoughts in the forum.

A View From Inside the Pentagon Listen

Now that the Taliban is on the run, the campaign in Afghanistan is entering a new stage. The only question is, what will this new stage entail? How will we go after Osama bin Laden? How can we help create stability in Afghanistan? Do we take the war on terrorism to other countries?

Thomas Ricks is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has been covering the U.S. Military for more than a decade. He has reported on operations in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and now Afghanistan. Tonight, Thomas Ricks tackles the question: What comes next for the campaign in Afghanistan?

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