US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta’s assurance that Afghanistan would not be permitted to become a terrorist breeding ground in future appears illusory as well as ambitious. He cautioned the observers of the war not to rejoice over the troops’ withdrawal which reflects that the US is harbouring hopes of seeking a permanent settlement so far as the post-war Afghanistan scene is concerned. The repercussions of overstaying are neither good for the US nor the country. Throughout history all those who ventured into this veritable graveyard of empires could not escape the backwash effects. The US too has started to suffer turbulence starting from the crash of the Wall Street, the worst ever since the Great Depression, and now the agitation in some states to secede. This scenario clearly suggests that the Obama Administration would have to rearrange its priorities. The Afghans too have borne the brunt of the violence; it is time to help them get out of the Stone Age by providing them with opportunities for a better life so that instead of taking up guns and bombs they become building blocks of a prosperous, peaceful and enlightened Afghanistan.