A first question to be answered in any war should be, "who is the enemy?" Another way to put it is, "what will victory look like?"  When it comes to Afghanistan the answers to both questions seem to be moving targets.

The U.S. Congress authorized the use of force against those who planned and carried out the attacks of September 11.  That would be Al Qaeda, which is a force primarily of radicals originating from outside Afghanistan. Losers and misfits pulled from every corner of the Arab world.

They came to Afghanistan and were allowed refuge here under the Taliban who were in charge of Afghanistan in 2001. The United States under George Bush was actually prepared to remain at peace with the Taliban if they would only hand over Osama Bin Ladin and his henchmen. The Taliban refused and the rest is history.

So who are we fighting now in Afghanistan?  Our own government estimates there are fewer than 100 Al Qaeda inside Afghanistan. There are likely more to be found in the combined capitals of several European nations. Certainly many more are currently in Yemen and Somalia. So why deploy 100,000 US troops here?

Are we now fighting the Taliban? It seems so, as U.S. troops have gone after Afghan fundamentalist and Taliban fellow traveler Hekmatyar. However some of Hekmatyar’s supporters are now in the Karzai cabinet, and President Karzai is offering peace with the Taliban, who he calls "my brothers."

So why are we fighting the Taliban again? They represent a significant number of people in the southern part of Afghanistan, and it is impossible to kill and capture all of their supporters. So what is our strategy here? Where is the end game?

To be sure, the Taliban’s values are repugnant to our sensibilities. But do we war with all such groups in this world? As I continue to meet with Afghans here in Kabul, my heart does go out to them, I do wish to support their efforts to achieve peace and stability. But it is increasingly clear to me that we cannot deliver that situation for them. And we should focus instead on achieving our original purpose here, making sure Al Qaeda does not set up bases from which it can strike the United States.