Even after a string of deadly Taliban attacks in Afghanistan in recent months, the outgoing commander of U.S. and international forces there insisted on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's strategy of an open-ended deployment was making progress.
I'm not as confident that we are on the right path given the ability of the Taliban to mass and overrun Afghan security outposts.
But the idea that "open ended" is a problem is silly. It is "open ended" because we want to win. We can have a closed end if we simply go home, abandon those who fight with us, and accept eventual defeat.
But don't be surprised if another tall building here at home comes crashing to the ground as we give our murderous jihadi enemies a sanctuary to plot against us.