http://lobelog.com/has-afghanistan-become-americas-afghanistan/#more-38589

Has Afghanistan Become America’s Afghanistan?

by Paul R. Pillar
Fifteen years and counting.  America’s longest war keeps getting longer.  The very duration of the expedition, with an end no more in sight now than it had been at any of several points one could have chosen over the last several years, ought to indicate the need for a fundamental redirection of policy.  And yet there continue to be calls, including from influential members of Congress, to sustain and even enlarge the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan.
That campaign has now continued under three U.S. presidents, two Afghan presidents, too many U.S. military commanders to count, and a variety of operational strategies associated with the different generals.  Different levels of U.S. troops also have been tried, with the peak of just over 100,000 American troops reached in 2011. http://lobelog.com/has-afghanistan-become-americas-afghanistan/#more-38589