{"id":16420,"date":"2018-11-01T17:14:26","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T17:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/01\/this-is-not-going-to-be-won-militarily-top-us-commander-in-afghanistan-reveals-pessimism\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:24:08","slug":"this-is-not-going-to-be-won-militarily-top-us-commander-in-afghanistan-reveals-pessimism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/11\/01\/this-is-not-going-to-be-won-militarily-top-us-commander-in-afghanistan-reveals-pessimism\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is not going to be won militarily\u2019: Top US commander in Afghanistan reveals pessimism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new U.S. general leading the mission in Afghanistan gave a surprisingly candid interview this week on the situation in-country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his first interview since taking command of NATO\u2019s Resolute Support<\/a> mission in September, Army Gen. Austin Miller\u2019s<\/a> thoughts seem to mirror the pessimism felt by the American people as the war in Afghanistan treads past the 17-year mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not going to be won militarily,\u201d Miller told NBC News in an exclusive interview<\/a>. \u201cThis is going to a political solution.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy assessment is the Taliban also realizes they cannot win militarily,\u201d he said. “So if you realize you can\u2019t win militarily at some point, fighting is just, people start asking why. So you do not necessarily wait us out, but I think now is the time to start working through the political piece of this conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miller\u2019s comments reflect several realities portrayed in the latest report from the leading U.S. government oversight agency on Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of July, the Afghan government controls or influences only 55.5 percent of the country\u2019s 407 districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the lowest level since the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, began tracking district control in November 2015, according to the group\u2019s quarterly report <\/a>released Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the exact numbers are classified, Resolute Support also said that the average number of Afghan government force casualties from May to October 2018 is the highest it has ever been during similar periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May was the most active month, accounting for 26 percent of all casualties during this five-month period. About 52 percent of the casualties during this time came during checkpoint operations, while 35 percent occurred during patrols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SIGAR reported that the number of checkpoint casualties is increasing while the number of patrol casualties is decreasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\t