The Taliban have long-range plans, too. While their attempts to actually hold seized provincial capitals have failed — often because of intensive intervention by American air power, aided by Special Operations troops — many provincial centers remain little more than islands, surrounded by hostile countryside. Taliban fighters can create roadblocks and ambushes in almost any part of the country, disrupting commerce and exacting an ever-growing human toll. Most of the 3,000 civilians killed annually are victims of the insurgents. And with Taliban control of most of Helmand Province, where 80 percent of Afghanistan’s opium is produced, Taliban coffers are full, both from taxing the drug and trafficking in it.
More likely, victory will resemble Afghanistan now: “a stalemate where the equilibrium favors the government,” in General Nicholson’s words to Congress in February. That assumes that the Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani can survive, an assumption sorely tested this year. Troubled with political divisions, and sometimes deadly infighting among pro-government warlords, Mr. Ghani’s government has faced debilitating street protests from citizens angry about terrorist attacks and insecurity.
What an Afghanistan Victory Looks Like Under the Trump Plan
See, we aren't willing to take blame for your failures, so you should stop trying. It isn't our fault if your Govt is corrupt and incompetent, and if ANA is more interested in peddling drugs, selling their weapons, abusing kids, killing innocents and fighting-under-the influence. Of course, they are not effective! Your problems are deeply internal, your population is highly supportive of the Taliban and ISIS, which is why the 100K strong military coalition couldn't do jack with all the king's men and all the king's horses. They don't simply and conveniently hop the border every-time the Afghans and the International forces have them on the run. Because, there's nothing on the other side of the border anymore, all the terrorists controlled areas have been retaken and army is deployed on the border. The reason why International envoys can visit Waziristan, FATA but can't go to Helmund province. If the terrorists are crossing from the Pakistani side of the Durand line regularly, what is stopping ISAF or Afghan Govt to target them via aircraft or drones?
It isn't because of the reason that somehow Pakistani military and/or ISI are running and supporting Taliban or other groups from the General Headquarter, Rawalpindi so effectively that it has deceived the world and caused the total failure of the trillion dollar war machine. General Petraeus, former ISAF commander and Director CIA himself admitted that there's no evidence which could prove that Pakistan is playing a double-game and supporting terrorists groups in Afghanistan. Stop deluding yourself with nonsensical conspiracy theories, put your house in order and then try to point fingers at others.