What ARE we doing in Afghanistan?

First, George Bush invaded Afghanistan in an ill-thought out fit of pique against the Saudi Arabian terrorists that had committed the atrocities of 9/11/2001.  Not to mention that the stated purpose of 'getting bin Laden' turned out to be a joke, not only because bin Laden was evacuating Afghanistan permanently as US troops were arriving, but it also completely ignored the Russian 10-year bad experience there.  (According to many sources, the Pentagon did not even have a battle plan for invading Afghanistan when George ordered them to go).

I mention this only because I have been befuddled by Obama's entire approach to this country (and Pakistan for that matter).  I heard an unattributed quote on NPRs Talk of the Nation today (a great program for thinkers by the way) that really summed up for me the realistic effect of our presence there:

...a good friend of mine used to say somewhat tongue-in-cheek that what we've done in Afghanistan has taken arguably the best irregular fighters in the world and turned them into the worst regular army outside of Africa. 
 

I am afraid that this has a lot of truth.  One of the Pentagon's many shortcomings is that it continually prepares and re-prepares (and spends untold tax dollars on) preparing for the perfect war....of the 1960s.