Issues to Solve During Afghanistan Transition

There are less than three years until the fight in Afghanistan has been fully transitioned to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) by the end of 2014.  There are many problems to be solved and issues to be faced during this transition.  Some of these include setting meaningful strategic goals for the war, developing an overall transition plan that will actually work, how to complete building up the ANSF in the face of upcoming cuts to the ANSF budget, what the end strength of the ANSF will be, what is the future of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), where will the peace negotiations with the Taliban leave us, how to reduce corruption within the Afghan government, how to resolve the difficulties with Pakistan (should we even try?), and how do we avoid a possible civil war between the Pashtuns and the ethnic groups of the old Northern Alliance (Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Hazaras)?  These questions and more are raised in an online piece entitled "The Real Issues in Afghanistan: Looking Beyond Undefined Policy Statements and Slogans", Defense Professionals, February 3, 2012.