In Afghanistan, 'The insurgency seems to be maintaining its resilience'

This disheartening article was on the front page of today's Washington Post. The latest strategy in Afghanistan doesn't seem to be working:

An intense military campaign aimed at crippling the Taliban has so far failed to inflict more than fleeting setbacks on the insurgency or put meaningful pressure on its leaders to seek peace, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials citing the latest assessments of the war in Afghanistan.

Escalated airstrikes and special operations raids have disrupted Taliban movements and damaged local cells. But officials said that insurgents have been adept at absorbing the blows and that they appear confident that they can outlast an American troop buildup set to subside beginning next July.

"The insurgency seems to be maintaining its resilience," said a senior Defense Department official involved in assessments of the war. Taliban elements have consistently shown an ability to "reestablish and rejuvenate," often within days of routed by U.S. forces, the official said, adding that if there is a sign that momentum has shifted, "I don't see it."

Now, I don't doubt that there are some intra-military politics at play here. There's going to be a battle between those who want to stay and escalate and those who want to leave:

The Obama administration's plan to conduct a strategic review of the war in December has touched off maneuvering between U.S. military leaders seeking support for extending the American troop buildup and skeptics looking for arguments to wind down the nation's role.

It's long past time to wind down our role.

It's impossible to think about the war in Afghanistan and not become enraged at the Bush administration's decision to ignore that war in order to invade Iraq -- over lies. That is going to haunt us for decades to come.