■"Commanders, and Women Too, Are Strong in Afghan Elections: A Parliament with conservative and religious overtones," by ,Carlotta Gall New York Times, 10 October 2005, p. A9.

No surprise in that the former mujahedeen leaders will form, in their collective opposition to the U.S.-installed (by and large) reformist Karzai government, the biggest bloc in the new Parliament. The Commies and Taliban did poorly, and women candidates did well enough to justify the preordained (nice call by the Americans) allotment of no less than 25% of the seats. With most of those women professionals, they should hold their own as well in that body's deliberations.

Quietly but surely, the nation-creating (that Friedman term) goes pretty darn well in Afghanistan.

In several months, we'll be making similar observations, I believe, about both Kurdistan and the Shiite-led Iraqi quasi rump-state (yes, the Triangle will still be burning here and there around the clock; too many outlaw Josie Jihadists to hunt down).