3 Ways with cherries

CHERRY DUTCH BABY Preheat oven to 425[degrees]. In a blender, whirl 3/4 cup flour, 2 tbsp. granulated sugar, 3/4 cup milk, 3 large eggs, and 1/4 tsp. salt until smooth. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 12-in. ovenproof frying pan over high heat. Add 2 cups pitted cherries; cook until warm, about 2 minutes. Pour in batter. Bake until golden brown and puffed, 20 minutes. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Serves 4.

CARAMELIZED CHERRY LAVENDER DESSERT Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tbsp. packed brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. dried culinary lavender, 2 cups pitted cherries, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Simmer until cherries are warm. Spoon over sliced angel food cake with a few toasted sliced almonds. Makes 2 cups.

RED WINE CHERRY SAUCE FOR MEAT In a frying pan over medium-high heat, saute a couple of sliced shallots and 2 cups pitted, halved cherries in olive oil until shallots start to brown. Mix in 3/4 cup red wine, 1 tbsp. finely shredded orange zest, 2 tbsp. each sugar and fresh orange juice, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until liquid reduces by half. Let cool slightly. Spoon over chicken or lamb and sprinkle with chopped fresh thyme and black pepper. Serves 4.

Caption only: Bicknell surrenders to gangster cinema

Gangsters and gun molls gather at the Chuckwagon in Torrey, Wayne County, before participating in the world's fastest parade for the 14th annual Bicknell International Film Festival (BIFF), which champions "bad cinema," on Friday. The two day festival, "Ba Da Bing, Ba Da BIFF" included screenings of the bad gangster films "The Lady Gangster," "Killer Dill" and "Ma Barker's Killer Brood," parties, a swap meet and a mutton and 'taters Dutch oven lunch.

Festivities kicked off Friday night with the 55 mph parade from Torrey to the Wayne Theatre in Bicknell, Wayne County. Festival sponsors included Utah Public Radio, the Utah Office of Tourism, the Utah Film Commission, Red Rock Brewers, Boulder Mountain Realty and The Entrada Institute.

Table talk

Blue Lemon, 11073 N. Alpine Highway, Highland, offers "Dutch Oven Cooking With Todd Leonard," Aug. 13, 6 p.m., $25; "Whole Wheat Bread With Lacey Lee," Aug. 15, 10:30 a.m., free; "Garnishing With Bernhard Gotz," Aug. 27, 6 p.m., $30 (801-756-5075)

Sandy Bosch Kitchen, 8940 S. 700 East, offers "Healthy Breakfasts," Aug. 15, 11 a.m., free; "At Tiffany's Table," Aug. 19, noon, free; "Basic Bread Class," Aug. 22, 11 a.m., free; "Dehydrating Basics," Aug. 26, noon, free (801-562-1212).USU Extension, 2001 S. State, South Building, Room S1007, offers "Canning Meats, Salsa and Tomatoes," Aug. 18, 1-5 p.m., $3; "Quick Meals -- Practical Tips on Simple Healthy Meals," Aug. 19, 2-3:30 p.m. or 5:30-7 p.m., free (801-468-3179).John and Jennie's Bosch Kitchen, 6261 Highland Drive, offers "Using Gluten Free Coconut Flour, Aug. 15, 10:30 a.m., free; "Basic Canning Class," Aug. 18, noon, free; "Mexican Food With Pressure Cooker," Aug. 22, 10:30 a.m., $5; "Fresh Fruit Smoothies, Pina Colada & More," Aug. 25, noon, free; "Basic Food Storage," Aug. 29, 10:30 a.m., free (272-9922 or www.jandjkitchen.com ).The Finishing School, 4880 S. Highland Circle, Holladay, offers year-round youth and adult cooking and baking classes. For class schedule, call 801-277-9244 or visit www.thefinishingschoolslc.com.Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, offers "Cooking With Kids," Aug. 13, 10 a.m., $25; "Restaurant Sushi," Aug. 13, 6 p.m., $75; "Italian Cooking," Aug. 15, 11 p.m., $40; "Cooking With Kids," Aug. 18, 10 a.m., $30; "Let's Pig Out," Aug. 18, 6:30 p.m., $50; "Summer Fresh," Aug. 19, 6:30 p.m., $40; "Cooking With Kids," Aug. 20, 10 a.m., $30, "Sushi Love," Aug. 20 6 p.m., $75 "Summer Pies and Tarts," Aug. 22, 10 a.m., $50; "Vietnamese Cooking," Aug. 25, 6:30 p.m., $40; "Indian Cooking," Aug. 29, 11 a.m., $40 (801-768-2300 or www.thanksgivingpoint.com.)Marguerite Henderson, 1529 Hubbard Ave., offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, call 801-582-9204 or log on to www.margueritehenderson.com.For Your Kitchen, Newgate Mall, 3651 Wall Ave., Ogden, offers a variety of cooking classes. For a schedule call 801-866-1111 or log on to classes@fykitchen.com.Harmons, 125 E. 13800 South, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, call 801-617-0133 or log on to www.harmonsgrocery.com.Viking Cooking School, 2233 S. 300 East, offers "Canning Basics," Aug. 19, 6 p.m., $15; "Hands-on Canning," Aug. 22, 10 a.m., $35. Other classes can be found at www.vikingcookingschool.com or 801- 464-0113.Connie Mason, The Sun Oven Lady, offers a free solar cooking demonstration at The Sunflower Farmers Market Health Fair, 6284 S. State, Murray, Aug. 15, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (mysunoven.blogspot.com or 801-413-8914).Gygi Culinary Institute, 3500 S. 300 West, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, call 801-268-3316 or log on to www.gygi.com.e-mail: vphillips@desnews.comLugano, 3364 S. 2300 East, offers "Summer Produce Italian Festa," Aug. 15, 11 a.m., $55; "Wine Harvest Menu, Sept. 12, 11 a.m., $55; "Holiday Entertaining," Oct. 10, $55 (801-412-9994).Sandy Macey's Little Theater, 7850 S. 1300 East, offers "Vintage Car Show and Dutch Oven Gathering," Aug. 17, 5-8 p.m, free; "Quick Summer Suppers," Aug. 10, 7 p.m., free; "Quick Summer Suppers," Aug. 20, 7 p.m., free; "Blue Chip Food Storage," Aug. 25, 7 p.m., free (801-255-4888).South Fork Hardware, 1075 N. 500 East, North Salt Lake, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule call 801-383-3838 or log on to www.theacekitchen.com.The Athlete's Kitchen at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, 5848 S. 300 East, Murray, offers, "Fueling for Success" Sept. 2, 5-6:30 p.m., free; "Antioxidant Power: Cooking With Fresh Fruits and Veggies," Sept. 9, 6 p.m., $15 (801-314-2996).Lorken Food Finery at Gardner Village, 1100 W. 7800 South, offers cooking and cake-decorating classes. For a schedule, call 801-938- 1982 or log on www.theacekitchen.com.

e-mail: vphillips@desnews.com

What's cooking

U. Lifelong Learning offers "Preserve Your Garden's Fruits and Veggies," Sept. 10 and 17, 7 p.m., at SmartSpace, 50 W. Century Parkway (2950 South); $69; "Sushi Making: Learn the Basics," Sept. 15, 6 p.m., at Orson Gygi, 3500 S. 300 West, $70; "French Cooking: Provence," Sept. 21, 6 p.m., at Orson Gygi, 3500 S. 300 West, $70 (801-587-5433 or www.lifelong.utah.edu).

Gygi Culinary Institute, 3500 S. 300 West, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, call 801-268-3316 or log on to www.gygi.com.South Fork Hardware, 1075 N. 500 East, North Salt Lake, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule call 801-383-3838 or log on to www.theacekitchen.com.Marguerite Henderson, 1529 Hubbard Ave., offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, call 801-582-9204 or log on to www.margueritehenderson.com.John and Jennie's Bosch Kitchen, 6261 Highland Drive, offers "Pressure Cooking in Minutes," Sept. 12, 10:30 a.m., free (801-272- 9922 www.jandjkitchen.com).Blue Lemon, 11073 N. Alpine Highway, Highland, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, call 801-756-5075.Sandy Bosch Kitchen Center, 8940 S. 700 East, offers ""At Tiffany's Table" Sept. 16, noon, free; "Basic Bread Class," Sept. 19, 11 a.m., free; "Pressure Cooking," Sept. 11, noon, free; "Shirley J Products," Sept. 19, noon, free (801-562-1212 or register on-line at www.mykitchencenter.com).Connie Mason, The Sun Oven Lady, offers free solar cooking demonstrations (mysunoven.blogspot.com or 801-413-8914).Viking Cooking School, 2233 S. 300 East, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, log on to www.vikingcookingschool.com (801- 464-0113).Lugano, 3364 S. 2300 East, offers "Wine Harvest Menu, Sept. 12, 11 a.m., $55; "Holiday Entertaining," Oct. 10, $55 (801-412-9994).Harmons, 125 E. 13800 South, offers a variety of classes. For a schedule, call 801-617-0133 or log on to www.harmonsgrocery.com.For Your Kitchen, Newgate Mall, 3651 Wall Ave., Ogden, offers a variety of cooking classes. For a schedule call 801-866-1111 or log on to classes@fykitchen.com.The Athlete's Kitchen at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, 5848 S. 300 East, Murray, offers "Antioxidant Power: Cooking With Fresh Fruits and Veggies," Sept. 9, 6 p.m., $15 (801-314-2996).Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, offers "Breads," Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m., $40; "Thai Cooking," Sept. 15, 6:30 p.m., $40; "Fondue," Sept. 16, 6:30 p.m., $40; "Cooking With Kids," Sept. 18, 3 p.m., $30 (additional sibling, $25); "Italian Cooking," Sept. 19, 11 a.m., $40; "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie," Sept. 14, 6:30 p.m., $50; "Indian Cooking," Sept. 26, 11 a.m., $40; "Fiesta," Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m., $40; "Fall Harvest Fare," Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m., $40 (801-768- 2300 or www.thanksgivingpoint.com).e-mail: vphillips@desnews.comSandy Macey's Little Theater, 7850 S. 1300 East, offers "Blue Ribbon State Fair Recipes," Sept. 10, 7 p.m., free; "Hot Homemade Bread," Sept. 15, 7 p.m., free; "Dutch Oven Delights," Sept 17, 7 p.m., free; "Ultimate Solar Cooking," Sept. 22, 7 p.m., free; "Dutch Oven Recipes," Sept. 24, 7 p.m., free; "Autumn Recipes," Sept. 29, 7 p.m., free (801-255-4888).The Finishing School, 4880 S. Highland Circle, Holladay, offers year-round youth and adult cooking and baking classes. For class schedule, call 801-277-9244 or visit www.thefinishingschoolslc.com.

e-mail: vphillips@desnews.com

Gather 'round the fire fer cowboy poetry fest

Humor, harmony and a hankerin' for the Old West.

People turned out in droves and had such a good time, they wanted to do it again. "After three years, we outgrew the building and decided to move to the high school. People told us it would die, because that was too cold and formal. But we got the Bar J Wranglers to come down from Wyoming, and they sold out and put us on the map."Their Heber concerts, he says, "will be everything thing you heard in the 1970s and a bit more. Be there -- or be square.""We love to come to Heber," says Scott Humphrey of the Bar J Wranglers. "The first time we came, we knew they were on to something. We're very glad they invited us to join their 'circus.'"That's what you find in abundance at the annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Heber City, which will be held Nov. 3-8.His band has been a major contributor to the genre of Western swing for some 40 years now. "We have a great love of Western music, Western art, Western poetry, so we'll fit right in."There will be a Wild West Show; the Cowboy Poetry Express train (where the audience sits and the entertainers move from car to car); a Buckaroo Ball; the Buckaroo Fair, with vendors offering all things Western; evening concerts; continuous music and poetry, including some open-mike times for anyone who wants to participate; cowboy church and more.Carson has "lived the cowboy life. My passion is training horses. But I love everything about the lifestyle."But even as it has been rolling along, the Wheel has been constantly re-inventing itself, he said. One of this year's most exciting ventures has been teaming up with the legendary Willie Nelson, for a newly released CD, "Willie and the Wheel," and a PBS Austin City Limits concert that will air Nov. 14 (check local listings).Carson has been writing poetry for about 10 years now. His first poem was one he fired off to the local newspaper when the Heber City Planning Commission made him mad over a planned develoment. "Their attorney wrote a poem back, so I answered in rhyme. I found out I couldn't fight City Hall, but I had a knack for poetry. It's been kind of fun."The Bar J Wranglers are comprised of Scott and his brother, Bryan, fiddler Tim Hodgson, guitarist Danny Rogers and sidekick Don Cook. The Humphrey brothers grew up in Jackson, Wyo., "back when it was a real cow town, helping out with the family dinner theater. Our Dad was gifted with a golden voice and a passion for the music of the West. We were raised up with that," says Scott.Now in its 15th year, the gathering has earned a reputation as one of the biggest and best of such festivals in the country.And that's what is so great about the Heber gathering, he says. You can immerse yourself in what you love. "One of the greatest things is how people come from all over the country. There's a huge following, and what they get here is as good as you'll find anywhere."Their focus, he says, "is on the land, the cattle industry, the old American way of life. There are a lot of genuine, good people out there still involved in that, and they're a huge part of our fan base. Bringing them together like this -- it really is a jewel, really one of the top in the country."e-mail: carma@desnews.comRay Benson, of Asleep at the Wheel, is also excited to be coming to the gathering. "We haven't been there before, but we've been through the area. It's beautiful country," he said in an interview from his home in Texas.The gathering started when Whitaker and a couple of his friends discovered a mutual interest in cowboy poetry and decided to have an evening of it. "We'd never been to a gathering, but we thought how hard could it be?" Whitaker went to the town hall, put down a $250 deposit to rent it for one of the few days available, got artist Robert Duncan to do "a little drawing for a poster, found a friend to do a Dutch over dinner. Then we told people they had to pay $5 for the dinner, and the poetry was free."Benson grew up loving and collecting "all the old records. Bob Wills became the most reknowned of the Western swing artists, but I loved them all." It's an uniquely American genre, he says, combining the fiddle and strings with the Big Band and soul sound. "It's roots music. It's great Americana." And it's important, he says, "because if you don't know where your roots are, your branches will die."This year's gathering will move to the new high school, and while the Bar J Wranglers will still perform, they will be joined by a slew of other Western entertainers, including Michael Martin Murphey, Don Edwards, Sons of the San Joaquin, Riders in the Sky, and making their first appearance, Asleep at the Wheel. There will also be a number of other local and regional favorites."We get so many people that come from all over," says Tom Whitaker, founder and driving force behind the gathering. "I think the reason we stand out is that we go beyond poetry. We bring in a huge number of headliners, so there's nonstop entertainment. There's horsemanship. There's Dutch oven cooking. There's something for everyone who is at all interested in Western culture and the cowboy lifestyle."Baxter Black and Waddie Mitchell will be back with their unique brands of cowboy poetry, and will also be joined by local and regional poets of all ages.If it tends to be a romantic look at the Old West, so be it, says Whitaker. "We all know there were tough times back then, and we'd not want to live there, but there are a lot of values and attitudes that shouldn't be forgotten -- not to mention the harmony in some of those great old songs."One new addition this year, says Whitaker, is the Mustang Makeover Competition, where cowboys have taken wild mustangs and had 90 days to train them, and then the horses will be shown and auctioned off. Also new this year are some theatrical presentations of "Annie Get Your Gun."The Wranglers spend their summers at the dinner theater, "then we travel in our off-time. This year, we may even get to go overseas to entertain the troops. Bryan has a boy in the Marines, and we're looking at ways and means of getting there."

e-mail: carma@desnews.com

Celebrate Utah heritage -- and ethnic treats

Food, food and more food. The next couple of weeks offer a chance to enjoy several culinary-related festivals that have become part of Utah's heritage.

Food really plays the starring role here, with traditional favorites -- souvlaki, dolmathes and baklava -- among the items on the extensive, big fat Greek menu. Food is served beginning at 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon on Sunday.This is the largest Greek festival west of the Mississippi and the largest ethnic festival in Utah (www.saltlakegreekfestival.com)Brigham City's Peach Daysbegan in 1904 as a way to celebrate the harvest in Box Elder County.Scheduled this year for Sept. 9-11, Peach Days is Brigham City's largest event, with attractions that include a parade, custom car show, motorcycle show, theatrical production and lots of craft and food vendors.Meanwhile, the Greek Festival begins at 5 p.m on Sept. 10 and runs through Sept. 13 at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 279 S. 300 West.Food sold throughout the evening includes Indian curry with house- made cheese (paneer), spicy Bengali rice, and giant lentil chips (papadams). Admission is $3 per person and $1 for children.e-mail: vphillips@desnews.comAmid the usual carnival-type food you can find Dutch oven peach cobbler, peach smoothies and peach ice cream.The Utah State Fair also begins Sept. 10 and runs through Sept. 19. New and featured carnival items include fried ravioli on-a- stick, alligator on-a-stick, catfish sandwich, prickly pear lemonade, frog legs, Cajun crawfish, gelato, Hawaiian shaved ice, grilled and fried vegetables, veggie burger, turkey legs, pork tenderloin sandwich, and deep-fried candy bars, Twinkies, Oreos and cheesecake.Fair fare is usually pretty expensive, but bargain-hunters should head to the Utah Dairy Council's ice cream festival, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. For $3, you can have all the ice cream you can eat. The Utah Beef Council will sponsor a Beef Feast Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. A sandwich with chips is $5.On your return home, stop at the roadside stands and buy peaches and other produce.While eating, you can enjoy some traditional music and folk dances, shop at the boutique or take a tour of the church.You can also head to the Home Arts building and admire the blue- ribbon preserves, cookies, candy, breads and biscuits, or watch the cooking demonstrations and contests.The main event, the Pageant of Ramayana, begins at 7:30 p.m., and climaxes with the burning of a 20-foot high effigy of Ravana with flaming arrows.And the 23rd Annual Festival of India takes place Sept. 12 at Utah Valley's Krishna Temple, on South Main Street in Spanish Fork, beginning at 4 p.m.Or, you can check out the 4-H building, where kids exhibit cakes decorated in a rainbow of colors (www.utahstatefair.com).Green River is the state's prime melon-growing spot, and truckloads of melons will be cut up and given away to festivalgoers at the city park.More than 4,000 attended last year's celebration, with live music, dancing and cultural exhibits.

e-mail: vphillips@desnews.com

An Afghan Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day 2001, my job was to take the turkeys out of the fire. I'd been out reporting most of the day, so when I returned to Jalalabad my contribution to dinner was to monitor four scrawny Afghan turkeys that were baking in Dutch ovens buried in hot coals behind the Spinghar Hotel. Once I was sure they were fully cooked, I sliced them up for a dining room full of war correspondents who were celebrating with an unhealthy amount of lousy Pakistani liquor.

While President Obama will make the decision about a new strategy, individual Americans need to answer these questions for themselves. Texans in particular need to think about Afghanistan, because 15,000 Texans serve in the armed forces. Lately, one Texan per week has died in Afghanistan.Politicians and generals may talk about fighting terrorism, but frontline troops talk about the new school or the better hospital they've helped build. I've been on patrol with hundreds of young soldiers, and the one thing I've heard over and over again is that they can't believe how horrible the living conditions are in Afghanistan. And once they've been inside an Afghan family compound, they would often say: "I get it, I get why these guys become terrorists." They learn firsthand that defeating terrorism is not about killing people, but about defeating injustice.Hundreds of girls were at school for the first time in their lives. The teachers did their best to calm them, but learning with others- instead of alone or in small groups at home-proved to be a powerful distraction. Throughout Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, 3,500 girls have registered for classes and 320 female teachers have returned to work.Eight Thanksgivings later, U.S. soldiers are still celebrating their survival in Afghanistan, even as they ship home the bodies of their dead. Taliban gunmen are still launching ambushes on the Kabul road as American bombs rain down. Some Texas troops will be sharing a Thanksgiving meal on the sprawling Bagram Air Base, eating turkey and fixings supplied by Houston-based KBR, which has made billions in profits from the war. More will be sitting behind sandbags in frigid fire bases, eating ravioli out of plastic bags and peering down mountainsides, watching for the enemy.The first thing to understand about Afghanistan is that it's not Iraq. Nor is it Vietnam. The nation has not had an effective central government since the late 1970s, and since then living conditions have regressed in almost every way. There is also a vast gulf between average Afghans and the men who carry Kalashnikovs in the streets. One wants nothing but peace; the other is a mercenary.I spent two months living with Pashtun fighters during the Battle of Tora Bora in 2001. These mujahedeen had only weeks earlier ditched their Taliban turbans to join the CIA payroll and fight al Qaida. They had no interest in Western ideas of liberty, democracy or fighting terrorism; they only wanted to drive the foreign fighters out of their country. At that moment the enemy was al Qaida, which made them our allies of the hour. These fighters had been educated in conservative religious schools, if at all, and they fought for clan leaders who made sure they got paid. They prayed five times a day, even in the heat of battle. Their goal was to simply be left alone.The vast majority of Afghan civilians, of course, don't become terrorists. Most people I've met want a country more like India than Iran. They certainly don't want the medieval-style Islamic regime the Taliban operated. They want little more than to work, prosper and provide a better life for their children.I have no doubt that most of the mujahedeen I shared tea with in 2001 are now fighting against U.S. troops. The heart of Gen. Stanley McChrystals battle plan for Afghanistan is to get these men to switch sides again. That strategy eventually succeeded in Iraq, after years of strategic blunders, but will be harder in Afghanistan. In Iraq, American officers could negotiate with the nationalist insurgents because they were led by men from the middle and upper classes, many of them with Western educations and secular views. The flat terrain also favored American tactics, making the insurgents want to talk.I could try to quantify the misery in Somalia using government statistics, but there has been no real government to collect data since 1989. Outsiders guess that unemployment is at 80 percent, but no one knows for sure. Infant mortality is horrifyingly high, but since most Somalis never see a hospital in their short, brutish lives, who can calculate a number? I can tell you that no more than 10 percent of Somali children see a classroom. Women are oppressed publicly and abused daily. Young men are heavily armed and drugged, either on a narcotic called khat or on a radical form of Islam that would make al-Qaida's Ayman al-Zawahiri blush.Those who would withdraw American troops from Afghanistan are condemning the Afghan people to a Somali fate. The people of Somalia did not elect the brutal warlords who rule their divided country, and neither would Afghans elect the radicals who would take power if left unopposed. We would be writing off millions of people to generations of suffering, and the female half would again become chattel. The cost in lives and money to the United States would certainly drop in the short term. The long-term costs to humanity would skyrocket.The litany of seemingly insurmountable challenges has led many to call for an immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan. After McChrystal's report leaked in September, Vice President Joe Biden floated a containment strategy in which the Pentagon would pull out and build a virtual wall around Afghanistan. We've tried that before, and we're still doing it with another country I've reported from: Somalia. U.S. troops provide equipment and training to every country that borders Somalia, and a naval task force sits off the coast. The Pentagon's goal is to simply contain the radicals where they can do no harm.I was late to that Thanksgiving party in 2001 because I had been assigned to write a heart-warming story. The headline read, "Girls at School in Eastern Afghanistan for the First Time Since 1996." I wrote, in part:Just a week before, Taliban fighters had ambushed us on the road to Kabul. The bearded gunmen stopped two of the cars in the convoy and executed four of our colleagues. It took several days to get the bodies to Pakistan. Their faces were still fresh in our minds. The night before the holiday, The Washington Post's Pam Constable had decided to organize a dinner to break the somber mood, even as American bombs rattled the windows. We tried to blunt our trauma by raising glasses to our fallen comrades and treating ourselves to an American Thanksgiving.Back home, many Americans will be thinking long and hard about what our troops are doing in Afghanistan and what they can hope to accomplish. Most important, they'll be asking whether the fight in Afghanistan is worth what it's costing us in blood and treasure.As a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press, I had spent more than a dozen Thanksgivings with fellow hacks in Third World countries, fashioning holiday meals from whatever we could find in local markets. But Thanksgiving in Afghanistan was different. Sure, there were plenty of familiar faces from past wars in the old hotel that we had made the media headquarters. There were also acouple of household names at the table: CNN's Brent Sadler, Fox's Geraldo Rivera. But this dinner of turkey, mutton, cauliflower and potatoes was more emotional than others.In Afghanistan, there is no middle class. Most Afghans spend their lives following an ancient interpretation of the Quran. The country's mountainous geography favors guerrilla tactics, which places the Americans in a weak negotiating position. The Afghans have also proven difficult to buy off, since clan and tribal loyalty are paramount in Afghan society.

The vast majority of Afghan civilians, of course, don't become terrorists. Most people I've met want a country more like India than Iran. They certainly don't want the medieval-style Islamic regime the Taliban operated. They want little more than to work, prosper and provide a better life for their children.