Ambush in Afghanistan

War correspondent Christina Lamb reports on being cornered with her photographer and British Army troops during a Taliban ambush in Zumbeley, Afghanistan. Lamb's essay, 'Have you ever used a pistol?', offers a gripping first-person account of the dangers coalition forces are facing in Afghanistan, where, contrary to previous claims of victory, the Taliban remain a powerful presence. Would the situation in Afghanistan be better today if the U.S. military had not rushed to wage war in Iraq? The deteriorating conditions in Afghanistant suggest that the U.S. military should have been allowed to soundly defeat the Taliban and Al Quaida in Afghanistan rather than being forced to redeploy its resources for the invasion of Iraq.