US Military Faces 'Unending Combat' in Afghanistan With Little Chance of Success

The report by the private intelligence firm Soufan Group showed that the US now faces the difficult reality of an unending combat commitment in Afghanistan to bolster local authorities 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.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A successful Taliban attack that killed as many as 160 Afghan soldiers at a military base earlier this week illustrates a quagmire for US forces that is likely to grow worse despite planned increases in US troops in Afghanistan, according to a report by the private intelligence firm Soufan Group on Tuesday.

"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."

Additionally, the report places much, if not all, of the blame on the Afghan government’s inability to govern effectively, rampant corruption at all levels, poor military leadership, Taliban infiltration in the ranks and high attrition and desertion rates.

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.