The paper reviews the grave shortcomings of international aid to Afghanistan since 2002, with reference to reconstruction, drugs and the conduct of the new war against the Taliban since 2003-2004. The paper also examines relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan: the growing connections between the Taliban of both countries and Pakistan’s ambiguous attitude towards Afghanistan. There is some hope in Afghanistan, with possible improvements in the conduct of the war and the reconstruction, but the future remains uncertain. As for Pakistan, anti-Taliban movements are growing but the government is weak. The future remains hazy but Pakistan is a country with a number of assets and simply labeling it a failed State is a dramatic over-simplification.