Milton Bearden talked about the future of Afghanistan. His article in the March/April 2009 issue of The National Interest, "Curse of the Khyber Pass," looks at ways to avoid defeat in Afghanistan. He argues that instead of focusing on troop escalation to quell violence, the Obama administration should turn to the provinces for answers and consider arming the militias. Milton Bearden is a retired Central Intelligence Agency (CIA} officer who managed the CIA's covert assistance to the Afghans from Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He also served in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Nigeria, Sudan, and Germany.