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Army Gen. John Nicholson testifies in the Senate on Feb. 9, 2017.(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

The war in Afghanistan is not going well. At best, it's a stalemate. At worst, it's a war seemingly without end the longest in U.S.history that is now shifting slowly in favor of the enemy, the Taliban and other Islamic extremists.

Afghan security forces are fighting harder than ever, but an average of20 police or soldiers are beingkilled each day. The government in Kabul is barely able to gather enough new recruits to make up for the mounting dead and wounded. Last month, amother in Kabul lost three sons, all police officers, to a single attack.Territory is slipping from the government's grasp, withjust 57% of districts nationwide controlled by Kabul, down 15% from November2015.

Americans have sacrificed a lot since the war began in 2001in retaliation forthe 9/11 terror attacks plotted byal-Qaeda leaders, who had safe harborin Taliban-controlledAfghanistan. Beyond the 2,247 U.S. military deaths and 20,000 wounded, the U.S. has spent more in inflation-adjusted dollars to reconstruct Afghanistan than it did to rebuild Europe after World War II, and the nation remainsfar from self-sustaining.

The mainupsideis that the U.S. has successfully preventedAfghanistan from being used as a base for another 9/11-styleattack on American soil. "We believe ... that our operations in Afghanistan directly protect the homeland," Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of the U.S.-led international military force in Afghanistan, told senators this month.Other accomplishments include shrinking territory held by the Islamic State's Afghan affiliate down to a few districts and, in October, killing an al-Qaeda leader who was planning an attack on the United States.

Nicholson concedes the war is a stalemate.He'd like to add perhaps 1,400 U.S. troops to the 8,400 already in Afghanistan,with maybe2,000 morecontributed from NATO and other coalition allies who already have 5,000 on the ground. Theadditional manpower would improve battlefield surveillance and move trained advisers further down into Afghan forces to bolsterleadership.

Enough already for Afghanistan: Opposing view

Nicholson's request for more U.S. troops appearsreasonable, but troop levels have to reflect abroader strategy.America needs to know President Trump'sposition on Afghanistan.More than amonth into his administration, there's silence on the issue. Trump has offered conflicting views in the past, arguing against nation-buildingbut telling Fox News last year, albeit rather reluctantly, that he'd stay in Afghanistan. Trump has ordered his generals to come up with a plan to defeat radical Islamic terrorism.

President Obama was moving toward a complete withdrawal, which might have successfully pressured Kabul into assumingmore responsibilities.But by announcing troops levels well into the future,divorced from the situation onthe ground, he also left the Taliban and other terrorist groups to bidetheir time until the U.S. was gone.

The White House needs toconduct a major policy review of Afghanistan, reach a fundamental decision and then make its case tothe American people. The U.S. troops serving valiantly in Afghanistan deserve clarity of purpose.

The choice is whether the U.S. is staying in Afghanistan with an active counterterrorism role and assisting the government's fight against its enemies orwhether it is leaving. Only when the Taliban realizes that the U.S. commitment is unwavering, and that itcannot retake Kabul, will this longest war come to a resolution.

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In Afghanistan, what's the plan?: Our view - USA TODAY