Win, Lose or Draw in Afghanistan?

I suspect that almost every American war belongs in the loss column based on popular opinion polls. I'm tempted to leave out WWII, but fear that it too might be seen as a loss by today's generation who seem to fear "keeping score".

Fully one third of the colonists opposed the American Revolution and another third hid from it in the wilds. Imagine how that opinion poll might look.

Between you and me (an audience for whom I have greater respect than the population at large), I suspect that we would have to first define the terms of victory before we could evaluate whether to put Afghanistan in the win or loss column. Sadly, our leaders in the District of Calamity didn't decide this before launching the war.

That is a disappointing poll, sir. I wonder if it was influenced by the failure of the Iraqi armed forces to do much of anything against ISIS. I realize it's Iraq and Afghanistan, two different countries, but the average American may not.

I would probably vote "Not sure" in that poll, because - while we did all kinds of good - I wonder if it will last. I also question whether anyone or anything could possibly change the lifestyle, the culture, and the in-fighting in that country and that part of the world, things that are deeply entrenched and have been for centuries.