The war in Afghanistan is complicated. The current U.S. strategy of counterinsurgency (or "COIN") calls for defending and winning over the local population. But the previous strategy under President Bush, and more recently advocated by Vice President Biden, emphasized counterterrorism (or "CT"), calling for a smaller presence and an emphasis on targeting only high-value terrorists. Then there are the complex issues of civilian casualties, the habeas corpus rights of detainees, the vigilante-like "Bin Laden hunter" Gary Faulkner, and more.

What could we possibly use to understand these infinitely complicated, interrelated issues? How about Harry Potter, the series of children's novels about a young British wizard? This bunch of Twitter-happy South Asia experts have decided to run with it:

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at mfisher at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.