The Editorial Board

USA TODAY

Over the next few months, as happens each year, thousands of 17-year-olds with parental consent will sign papers to join the armed services and head off for boot camp when they turn 18. Except there's a difference this time. These young people will enter a military that has been at war — in Afghanistan — longer than they have been alive.

The Afghanistan War started a month after the 9/11 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans 17 years ago Tuesday. The United States launched an assault on the Taliban regime that offered haven to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda plotters. The Taliban were driven from power in several weeks. But the war has never stopped and continues to be waged in the margins of American consciousness.

The U.S. death toll in Afghanistan has exceeded 2,200 since 2001, including six servicemembers so far this year. President Donald Trump decided a year ago to stay committed to Afghanistan, with about 15,000 U.S. troops largely in a support role for Afghan security forces.

Where does the war stand?

OPPOSING VIEW:Put a stop to America’s longest war

The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction describes a stalemate, with the Kabul-based government controlling two-thirds of the population and 56% of districts, the balance held or contested by an insurgency. Some analysts believe that the Taliban are contesting far more of the country than SIGAR suggests.

Government corruption remains rife, ethnic divisions are burgeoning, and the list of missteps in the spending of nearly $900 billion in U.S. aid since 2001 is staggering.

Amid the general sense of hopelessness, something rare and unexpected happened in June at the end of the Muslim holy month Ramadan. A temporary cease-fire unfolded, the first by the Taliban since 2001. As if a spigot of pent-up exhaustion was twisted open, Taliban fighters, Afghan security troops and government officials mingled in the streets embracing and snapping selfies.

"It gave everybody a glimpse of what could be," said Army Gen. Joseph Votel, overall combatant commander for U.S. operations in South Asia and the Middle East. "It was a fairly significant moment."

It was no storybook ending, however. Violence resumed and, early last month, the Taliban savagely seized the center of Ghazni, a city of 270,000. Hundreds died before insurgents were driven out, underscoring yet again that the Taliban, while formidable, seem unable to hold urban centers.

In June, an unprecedented Afghan peace movement sent foot troops marching across the country. Back-channel peace negotiations have been underway for months and last week, Defense Secretary James Mattis said a reconciliation "framework" exists.

There is no longer talk of winning, but much can still be lost. Taliban elements remain inextricably linked to al-Qaeda, perpetuating the risk that Afghanistan could again become a launching pad for terrorist attacks.

Beyond the premium of U.S. self-interest are the limited social gains promised and achieved, particularly for hundreds of thousands of Afghan girls who once had no future. A modest third of girls ages 12-15 now go to school. "These are terrible numbers, but they would be much worse under a Taliban-controlled government," says Heather Barr, a Human Rights Watch senior researcher on women's issues.

After considering everything from a pullout to an unsound plan to privatize the war, Trump last year took a strong stand to show that the United States will not allow the Taliban to reclaim power. Peace talks appear underway. This is no time to quit.

If you can't see this reader poll, please refresh your page.