Do you understand the actual premise of war? Not what politics would like to do with them as pawns, but what military, you know, the people with the weapons, what their jobs are? The Taliban having control in some areas doesn't speak to victory or loss. "IF" the US Military wanted to, their firepower can destroy each and every city in Afghanistan by tomorrow morning and bye bye Taliban.
Politics is losing. The Afghani farmers are losing. But the US soldiers decimated both Iraq and Afghanistan when it came to actual war.