Afghanistan is well-known as ‘graveyard of empires.’ No one could win power in Afghanistan. The British tried, the Russians tried. The greatest massacre of British soldiers in the history of the British Empire happened in Afghanistan.

What fate is awaiting the US-led forces in Afghanistan? They might not face what British and Russians suffered. The nature, goals and objectives of the current war varies from wars fought by British and USSR. There should be a difference between a war fought to occupy a country and a war fought to free the people of country from terror forces such as Taliban and al-Qaida.

After almost eleven years of counter-terrorism war, it is hard to say whether the NATO allies are winning or losing in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, the former one seems to have more weight.

The outgoing commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan General John Allen has said that the US and its allies are on path to victory against insurgents in Afghanistan. According to him, it is difficult to specify a particular date for victory against terrorism. He told BBC, "I think we have gone a long way to setting the conditions for what, generally, usually, is the defining factor in winning a counter-insurgency - to set the conditions for governance, to set the conditions for economic opportunity.... I think we are on the road to winning."

The greatest merit of the presence of international troops in Afghanistan is that it has made creation and growth of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) possible. It in fact speaks of the growing capabilities of ANSF that more than 75 percent of security responsibilities of Afghanistan has been transferred to it. Successful transition of security responsibilities is the most significant part of General John Allen’s tenure of deployment in Afghanistan.

Withdrawal from Afghanistan would not be possible, if the security sector of Afghanistan had not been bolstered. Although the ANSF has a long way to go, it can be counted as one of the major achievements of the international community in Afghanistan.

Serious concerns exist over the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. Amidst that, ANSF serves as the ultimate hope of the people and government of Afghanistan. It expected that considerable number of foreign troops would remain in Afghanistan to continue supporting and training the ANSF and keeping eye over the activities of terrorist networks such as al Qaida.

If there is a comprehensive plan for dealing the post-2014 threats to stability and gains of Afghanistan, there is no doubt that victory would be gained against the insurgents who are threatening security not only in Afghanistan but pose threats to regional and global security, as well.