Watch part two

Will the US send 44,000 more troops to Afghanistan as part of a counter insurgency strategy or will it instead opt for a smaller counter terrorism force?

With a decision expected in the next few weeks, reports indicate that Barack Obama, the US president, is looking for a compromise, middle of the road plan.

But is there another option?

Just last week, Matthew Hoh, the former US senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, announced his resignation saying he no longer saw the value in continued US involvement in what was essentially "a 35-year-old civil war".

In an emotional four-page resignation letter Hoh said: "Like the Soviets, we continue to secure and bolster a failing state, while encouraging an ideology and system of government unknown and unwanted by its people."

On Tuesday's Riz Khan show, we ask: Is it time for the US to withdraw from Afghanistan? Matthew Hoh joins the programme and gives us his answer to that question.

This episode of the Riz Khan show aired from Tuesday, November 3, 2009.