Only one thing is certain in 2014: it will be a year of American military defeat. For more than a decade, U.S. forces have fought many types of wars in Afghanistan, from a low-footprint invasion, to multiple surges, to a flirtation with Vietnam-style counterinsurgency, to a ramped-up, gloves-off air war. And yet, despite all the experiments in styles of war-making, the American military and its coalition partners have ended up in the same place as Alexander The Great and many great empires who attempted to conquer/colonize Afghanistan: stalemate, which in a battle with guerrillas means defeat. For years, a modest-sized, generally unpopular, ragtag set of insurgents has fought the planet’s most heavily armed, technologically advanced military to a standstill, leaving the country shaken and its citizens anxiously imagining the outcome of unpalatable scenarios.

Though the words "retreat," "loss," "defeat," "disaster," and their siblings and cousins won’t be allowed on the premises of the western media. But make no mistake, the country that, only years ago, liked to call itself the globe’s "sole superpower" or even "hyperpower," whose leaders dreamed of a Pax Americana across the Greater Middle East, if not the rest of the globe is… not to put too fine a point on it, packing its bags, throwing in the towel, quietly admitting – in actions, if not in words – to mission unaccomplished, and heading if not exactly home, at least boot by boot off Afghanistan.

Washington has, in a word, had enough. Too much, in fact. It’s lost its appetite for invasions and occupations of afghanistan, though special operations raids, drone wars, and cyberwars still look deceptively cheap and easy as a means to control… well, whatever. As a result, the Afghan drawdown of 2013-2014, that implicit acknowledgement of yet another lost war, should set the curtain falling on the American Century as we’ve known it. It should be recognized as a landmark, the moment in history when the sun truly began to set on a great empire. In the United States, though, one thing is just about guaranteed: not many are going to be paying the slightest attention.

Well, the US has finally learned what former superpowers already know about Afghanistan since the times of Alexander The Great. Thats, Afghanistan is indeed the grave of empires. Like mighty elephants, they came to conquer Afghanistan, killing, maiming, destroying the people in thousands, but just like Soldier-ants, the Afghan militants numbers and resilience begin to take its toll on the mighty elephant until it eventually succumbs, and is eaten to its raw bones.

Anyways, after the Afghan militants finish devouring US carcass by 2014, I leave to the historians the mystery of how the Afghans choose to bury the bones in their grave yards of already rotten bones of former world empires. The moment will be historic, so mark it!

I hate to say I told you so.

Alas, US is running out of Afghanistan in 2014 with its tail between its legs, as per President Obama's State of the Union address.

maple yu always dream like some muslim clerics about US and global politics. the other time it was isreal and now america. are yu part of the islamic/iranian propagandda presstv or aljazeera? please try and be objective. the war in afghanistan in all ages have never been about the afghns, but about geopolitical control. check history b4 yu spew crap.

^^^
Dude, anyone with a remote sense of history knows that most wars are fought for geopolitical reasons. Pls spend time to digest my post b4 making a fool of yourself.

The reasons why empires fought wars over Afghanistan is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that no Invasion Army or Empire has ever succeeded in achieving its military objectives in Afghanistan due to the resilience, terrain and fierce fighting spirit of the Afghanis. As an ardent student of history, I knew America's military adventure in Afghanistan was doomed to fail right from the start. President Obama SOU address again proved that I was right, that the 'Mighty' US Army is alas running away from Afghanistan. The truth is hard to swallow I know, especially when the mighty country you reverred so much has taken such an azz -whooping from the Talibans. Pls, I challenge you to present facts to objective readers to prove me wrong.

Kopite, I see you've been stalking my posts lately, blindly throwing few words here and there in disagreement, but unable to present facts to fellow readers to substantiate your points. From your comments, its apparent that you dont read my posts b4 u comment. Be an adult for once and desist from the name-callings simply because you disagree me. However, you can call me a 'muslim cleric,' 'mullah' or even 'boko haram' for all I care, so long as I do not suffer from western-media induced brainoporosis.