 Starting with a rhetorical question – Is NATO losing and the Taliban winning ? – Amrullah Saleh discusses the uncertainty among the Afghans about 2014 – when NATO ends its combat mission in Afghanistan . He then mentions Afghans ’ perception that the US is funding both sides of the conflict because Pakistan remains the key country supporting the insurgency . Amrullah Saleh also discusses why the NATO and the US remain unwilling to confront Pakistan because of their own security concerns . He advocates for a surge in the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces . Amrullah Saleh highlights the importance of both training and equipment to ensure that cleared areas of Afghanistan are held , communication lines are kept open , and major population centers are defended . 
