Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and representatives from over 60 countries are meeting in Kabul today. This is the first major international conference in Afghanistan since the 1970s, and the first time Afghanistan is playing host to its major donors. Atop of the agenda: how to hand more responsibility for Afghanistan to the Afghan government. This comes at a crucial period, as American troops are expected to start leaving Afghanistan by next year. 

Fotini Christia, assistant professor of political science at M.I.T., doesn't expect much from this conference, and believes that no "radical decisions can be made before the Kandahar Operations." She says, "if we don't get Kandahar right, I don't see how we can succeed."