Your mile long fortress is ridiculous. Ahmad Shah Massoud told us this would soon be our problem, unfortunately we (the west) didn't listen and he is dead now. He said that if we can get Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to stop funding and help us in this fight, it would have been over in a year.
Afghanistan is going to take a very long time, it lacks the infrastructure needed to succeed on their own.
Most afghans do not want the Taliban to return, but the Taliban atleast make due with their promises. We have not. Progress has been made, but it has not been enough. There was a point in 2011 when huge progress was being made, but with the pullout of troops, this progress is decreasing. Green on blue attacks are becoming more and more common. The ROE that is in place is not sufficient for our troops.
The ANA and ANP are getting much better and are taking the lead on several operations. This is a good sign.
I hope the next elections will bring in an actual leader capable of uniting afghans and ending the corruption.
This war we are fighting is not against a religion, but a civilization. An old and backwards civilization. Our is not perfect, but it is the best we have, and worth fighting for.