For those who continue to support the Afghanistan war, do you think that something resembling victory is?

Before we invaded Afghanistan the Russians warned us something like this would happen based on their own experience.

200 casualties or 200 KIA? I don't see 200 casualties as a realistic estimate. For every KIA there will be multiple WIAs.

I don't think OBL really figures in this anymore; its gone way beyond that.

If the country reverts to the Taliban, then it will again become a base for terrorism. Before withdrawing we should hear from our leaders how they plan to react to terrorism then.

Victory in Afghanistan is a vital measure to the United States' national security, and the security of Western Europe as well.

With the correct strategy, victory against the Taliban is absolutely viable.

The primary tactic that should be used against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is a classic UW/asymmetric warfare strategy, and that means winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. You would want to control vital water sources, right down to supporting and defending run down villiages that have wells. If the people who run the various water sources, (or at least most of them) can be made into friends of the U.S., then it will become nearly impossible for the Taliban to effectively run campaigns in Afghanistan.

Similar things could be done to disrupt the supply lines of radical fighters. For instance, have ODAs train militia fighters that could conduct raids against Taliban caravans. This would make it difficult for equipment to reach radical fighters.

The major populace centers should be secured as well. That means, once again, winning hearts and minds, and in order to do that, you would want to not only create local security outposts to defend cities, but you would also want the Corps of Engineers working to get the city's infastructure rebuilt, with working eletricity and plumbing. In Vietnam, if you handed a Hmong Chief a case of Budweiser, he'd fight alongside Americans until his dying day. Give the Afghan people light in their cities, and they will force out anyone who is against the folks who gave them working toilets.

A similar strategy was used in Iraq, and with some minor changes, the same strategy could be victorious in Afghanistan in under 5 years.

As for OBL, well, while it would be cool to nail the SOB, I don't think that he is as vital to the radical cause as some other individuals (for example, financiers, weapons suppliers, propagandists, etc.).

But who knows. Maybe Task Force 121 will get Bin Laden yet. I don't think that it is vital to victory in Afghanistan.

Mostly I want to reply to cbtwat. In 2008, law enforcement agencies submitted supplemental homicide data to the FBI for 14,180 murders. 41 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2008.That is Deaths NOT in a combat zone. No armed conflict. I submit to you it is more dangerous to be an American IN AMERICA than it is to be an American in Afghanistan.

I believe that we need to push the Taliban out of the country or atleast the majority of them. Right now the Taliban control over 80% of the country.

I don't think anyone expects that it's possible to transform Afghanistan into a poster Democracy country, but I do think we should be there until the Afghanistan government can take over their own security. If we can do that, then we've won.

i think by having our troops over their, we are wasting money that our country doesn't have and having innocent people killed everyday for no reason. We have enough problems in our own country, we shouldn't be worrying about a whole different country. They need to learn to fend for themselves. Too many of our men and women are being killed everyday. Obama needs to retract our troops.

The Talibans must be pulverized to prevent terrorism from happening in the US.

It isn't Bush's war, so it really isn't war at all.