This week, about 2,500 representatives from across Afghanistan gathered in a Loya Jirga ("Grand Assembly" in Pashto) to make one of the most important decisions in the country's modern history – whether or not to accept a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States. The BSA would, among other things, authorize a further 10-year U.S. residual military presence in Afghanistan to continue to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces.