Taliban summer assault begins in Afghanistan by killing 18 ANA with large assaulting force

We will most likely return. Advancement is by education. The American public does not want to hear this, but I feel that there are only 2 VIABLE options available:

1. Pull out, and never look back...letting them figure it out.
2. 75 year plan. We need to be fully engaged. Maybe not in the war fighting, but certainly in the education of the children. We would need to be there for at least 2 generations, allowing the old habits/thoughts to die off while teaching the kids and future leaders everything we can. THIS option would not be accepted by the population, but I feel that this would be the only other viable option.

In my opinion, we cannot stay there forever. We go through 8 to 13 weeks of training and are sent to war zones. If the Afghans can't be self sufficient in ten years, it's time for our troops to come home or be sent to Europe or anywhere but a war zone.

My dad worked overseas in Iraq a long time ago. He said they have public hangings every day and the Infidels were made to watch them. Also, I have a friend that worked overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. He told me when someone is killed or died other than being killed, women wailers are paid to wail at a funeral. My belief is they ( the Middle East in general) are so third world they don't understand what they are protesting or yelling about. They are like a bunch of magpies. When one starts squawking, they all join in. Being over there trying to make them understand anything is a waste of our KIA's and WIA's, time and our energy. IMHO

Mixed news but the new government seems more willing to accept US guidance yet, there is still wide spread corruption. The jury is still out on this one but this summer will be a key test of the ANA.

I personally think we've handled these wars wrong. I wish our leaders would study history, and broaden their thinking. The path to success in my opinion is from a "All in or All out" perspective. History has proven success takes generations. Germany "surrendered" in May 1945, then the work of rebuilding a nation started. The Berlin wall didn't go up until 1961 then it came down in 1989. The one constant? A huge U.S./NATO presence to provide stability and deter a Russian/Communist influence. We're trying to provide minimal supporting security to a 10 year old government, that doesn't work. If we want to provide real assistance and establish economic prosperity to someone other than the warlords and Poppy pushers we need a long term "Marshall Plan" for Afghanistan. Not a surge, a long term increase in security forces that will stay for 30-50 years. Why do I believe we should stick around? Afghanistan has 30 TRILLION dollars of untapped natural resources spread out over 1400 mining facilities. There's a lot at stake in Afghanistan folks, a lot. They don't want us there? So what, we're in it for the long haul. We're going to drag you out of the stone age and bring you back to your former splendor. We're going to breed out ignorance and breed in progressive behaviors.

Guess what! The usual players are still involved. Due to proximity China and the Soviets are providing "assistance" strip mining while we provide security. This is a failure in government policy. We are trying to give Afghanistan it's freedom and resources to do as they please and get out!? . A good analogy is we're trying to hand an infant a set of utensils and telling him to eat the great big steak in front of them. They can't do it. Seems like a great economic opportunity for us. Then again it might just be a caffeine infused morning rant from a retired 1SG that wants to see his country succeed. Aloha from Hawaii.

Better to fight now than to have the nation fall, be reclaimed, then have to start over again. What if we pull out, Afghanistan falls again, and it leads to another major terrorist attack. Yes it is a what if, but the flip side is by supporting the Afghanis now we can provide them with a more stable platform and mitigate the risk of those what ifs. There is no perfect solution. You are talking about a region of the world that would not know what to do with an extended period of peace. They just have never had it. From the conquest of Rome to the rise of ISIL, that region has always had militarized forces fighting in that region to "pacify" it according to their beliefs.
I won't pretend that I have the solution to the problem, but I believe deeply that we cannot abandon these people. That would lead to more radicalism that the world does not need at this time.

The Afghan people are a conquered people and always have been. Once someone seizes control of the country the people follow that person, and the process repeats itself all through out history. How are we suppose to change a peoples way of thinking in a decade or so? The people who come up with the goals set forth are looking at history as a whole, and think that by throwing money and troops at the problem it will be fixed. All the money we have thrown at that country to sure up its government and society as a whole has done nothing other than pad the pockets of those corrupt people in charge. I worked to train the Afghan Police and with their limited education it is like teaching tactics to my 11 year old, they just aren't going to grasp the idea. Unless a society as a whole stands up as a whole and bands together to rid their country of its problem, it will never happen.

In my opinion we need to either be committed to "win" or not start. During Desert Shield/Storm I remember congress and those "in charge" starting to waffle after we were already in country. I wrote a letter to the editor of my hometown newspaper saying we are here now, let us do our job so we could get this ("war/conflict") over with so we could come home. I still believe that today. If we are not going to do our best then let's not do anything. We are not (or should not be) the "little dutch boy" with our finger in the dam.

@CSM Michael J. Uhlig. It is a mess. There is no doubt. We have broadcast our intentions to the enemy and he is doing exactly what you would expect him to do. Wait for a better time and then attack.

I am afraid we will have to confront radical islam either there or here. Who can argue that we are seeing more and more of this at home. Both radicals from overseas coming here and the "home grown" radicals. We are also dealing with a population that freedom and liberty are foreign concepts. There is little to work with in that regard.

Do we cut our losses and leave? Stay and take it to the radical islamists? Do we keep a smaller foot print and support thus ensuring we are there for decades? All good questions, no great answers. We need a strategy from the White House (for the global war on terror that they don't call the GWOT anymore) and we have none.

I was told back in 1990 when all this started it would last many years.
And it would be are generations veitnam .
so lets bring our troops home and take better care of our own.