(To me, the US/western world could have won significantly by seeking to make Afghanistan a 'model' of what a prosperous Islamic society, not based on oil (or opium), could be through a collaborative effort that sought to foster a stronger society. Obviously, far from what was pursued

Bravo Adam.

And to bring the Diary back to Iran from its next door neighbour, it is exactly in this direction I have been trying to help them go, through implementing new financial infrastructure - eg the, now mythical,"Iran Oil Bourse" concept - based precisely upon the collaborative approach to which you refer.

It's been slow going, but I think current circumstances - ie the ongoing collapse of the US deficit-based system, and the global dollar hegemony - might allow the introduction of new alternatives solidly based upon the ethical values that underpin all the great religions, but which Islam alone continues to prescribe (albeit a prescription often ignored or perverted in practice).

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson