"The US now faces the difficult reality of an unending combat commitment in Afghanistan to bolster a partner that has not won the support of its own people, and has not been able to take and hold territory from the Taliban for more than a decade," the report stated.
The report highlighted overly-optimistic US status reports, which continually claim "the next year would be ‘the key year’ in turning around a failing effort."
Moreover, Monday’s attack on a base near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, which occurred as US Department of Defense Secretary James Mattis visited the country, illustrates that the central Afghan government remains ill-prepared to fight a determined and growing enemy, Soufan said.
The Defense Department has asked for 3,000 additional troops in the most recent attempt to turn around a quagmire that will only get worse in the years ahead, the report concluded.