Kabul under siege while America's longest war rages on - CBS News, 60 Minutes

In 16 years, the Afghan War has cost 2,400 American lives and $1 trillion. But with the country's capital under siege, the end still seems far away

The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history. It's lasted over 16 years and in that time, America's goals and strategies have changed. Now there's another new plan. President Trump has sent 3,000 more troops to train and assist the Afghan army. But in the Afghan capital you don't have to go far to see the problems. Kabul is so dangerous, American diplomats and soldiers are not allowed to use the roads. They can't just drive two miles from the airport to U.S. headquarters. They have to fly. After all these years, a trillion dollars, and 2,400 American lives -- Kabul is under siege.

This is rush hour at Kabul International Airport -- a swarm of helicopters that's earned the nickname 'Embassy Air.' It's how Americans and their allies working at the U.S. Embassy and military headquarters travel back and forth from the airport. It's just a five-minute flight. The chopper we boarded was making its tenth trip of the day.

A few years ago American convoys regularly drove on the airport road below. Now the view from the helicopter window is all most on board will see of Kabul. They'll stay behind blast walls for the rest of their time in Afghanistan. We wanted to know what it says about where we are in this war if American troops can't drive two miles down a road in Kabul.

John Nicholson: It's a country at war. And it's a capital that is under attack by a determined enemy. 

Ashraf Ghani: The level of brutality, the level of heartlessness is unbelievable, and we have to muster all of our resources to be able to deal with this.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rules from the presidential palace that's occupied the city center for more than a century. We noticed the walls around him and the rest of the city have expanded and grown taller since our last visit three years ago. Some of the streets we traveled turned into tight corridors of 20-foot high concrete barriers. It made it hard to tell where we were.

Lara Logan: Parts of this city now are unrecognizable. What happened here?

Ashraf Ghani: The war is changing from a war against armies to a war against people.

Lara Logan: More civilians are dying in Kabul every year. And your response is more walls.

Ashraf Ghani: 21 international terrorist groups are operating in this country. Dozens of suicide bombers are being sent. There are factories producing suicide bombers. We are under siege.

By terrorizing the people the Taliban have sown deep doubts about the government. The result: angry protestors in the capital chanting "death to Ashraf Ghani."

Lara Logan: The U.S. isn't going to be here for generations.

Ashraf Ghani: We will be here for generations. We do not need others to fight our fights.

Lara Logan: People in this country say that if the U.S. pulled out, your government would collapse in three days.

Ashraf Ghani: From the resource perspective they are absolutely right. We will not be able to support our army for six months without U.S. support, and U.S. capabilities.

Lara Logan: Did you just say that without the US support your army couldn't last six months?

Ashraf Ghani: Yes. Because we don't have the money.

American taxpayers bankroll 90 percent of Afghanistan's defense budget. That's more than $4 billion a year. Another $30 billion has been spent rebuilding this country. A bustling city has risen from the ruins. But in all the years we have been coming here, it's never been this dangerous. Checkpoints choke the traffic all over Kabul.  It was as difficult to film as it was to move. Terrorists can strike at any time. 

Dr. Alberto Cairo: If you consider that the lifespan of the people in Afghanistan is around 60 years, it means that at least two thirds of them have seen only war. War, war, war.

With America's new strategy, more troops are in, time limits are out, and Pakistan is under pressure for being a safe haven for terrorists. General John Nicholson believes this will end the war, something we've heard from previous commanders.

John Nicholson: Yes, this is the end game. This is a policy that can deliver a win.

Nicholson is targeting Taliban leaders. This car carried one of their high-ranking commanders. And striking their largest source of revenue, the drug labs that turn Afghanistan's most common crop -- opium --- into heroin. The goal is to do what his predecessors have repeatedly tried and failed -- force the Taliban to cut a deal.

Lara Logan: You know, many Americans look at this and they say, "You know, we've been there 16 years. It's enough now. We should just come home."

John Nicholson: Our country hasn't been attacked in those 16 years. They haven't been attacked from Afghanistan.

Lara Logan: A lotta people at home just don't buy that terrorists are coming from Afghanistan to attack them at home. They're worrying about the guy going to rent a truck from Home Depot and drive into a crowd of civilians.

John Nicholson: Well this raises the point. We need to defeat the ideology. If we were to lose here or if we were to leave here, the cost would be unacceptable. Why? It would embolden jihadists globally, those living in our own countries. It would convince them of the ultimate success of their cause. In my view the cost of failure here is unacceptable. - Read More, CBS

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