Think before you act

Ryan Crocker is retiring as our Ambassador to Afghanistan. He has three "rules" for his successor and us:

• Remember the law of unintended consequences. 
• Recognize the limits of the United States’ actual capabilities. 
• Understand that getting out of a conflict once you are in can often be dangerous and as destructive for the country as the original conflict.

And a couple of interesting quotes:

•  “You better do some cold calculating, you know, about how do you really think you are going to influence things for the better.” 
• “We’re a superpower, we don’t fight on our territory, but that means you are in somebody else’s stadium, playing by somebody else’s ground rules, and you have to understand the environment, the history, the politics of the country you wish to intervene in.”

  I'm not so sure he has been following his rules and observations.  Look at these and tell me what you think.