"I have seen much war in my lifetime and I hate it profoundly. But there are worse things than war; and all of them come with defeat." — Ernest Hemingway
U.S. stated policy is now to win in Afghanistan. The senior leadership has opted for victory over defeat. What does this mean and how does the coalition get there?
A win is an Afghanistan that does not fragment and endures as a state that is inhospitable to al-Qaida, the Taliban, the Islamic State-Khorasan and other Islamist groups. There will still be violence and poverty, but stability without a continuous existential threat is success.