I don’t know which is more disheartening: the fact that we can’t identify any Taliban leadership to negotiate with, or the fact that our demands are little more than a pipe dream.

While the military has secured parts of the country and bolstered the Afghan government’s security forces, the administration now recognizes that a final American withdrawal depends on a political settlement with the Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic movement equated closely with the murderous ideology of Al Qaeda. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were orchestrated by Al Qaeda under the Taliban’s protection.

The administration has imposed significant conditions for any reconciliation with the Taliban. The movement’s leaders must disarm, sever ties with Al Qaeda’s remaining leadership, recognize the government in Afghanistan and accept the country’s Constitution, including basic rights for women, who were severely repressed when the Taliban governed the country in the 1990s.

It is uncertain whether the Taliban or even parts of its leadership are willing to accept such conditions, and many experts are deeply skeptical.

I don’t even know where to begin critiquing this list of things that will never happen. It might be possible to get senior Taliban commanders to disavow any ties to al-Qaeda, but these men are leaders of religious students who have been indoctrinated in Saudi-funded madrassas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their views on women’s rights are not appreciably different from the views of the Saudi Royal Family. Obviously, I support human and civil rights for all women, but I don’t support occupying Afghanistan to uphold rights that are not respected within our close ally Saudi Arabia’s borders.

Furthermore, these men are warlords. All of their power and influence derives from their ability to lead armed men. They are not going to put down their guns unless there is something very lucrative in it for them. In some cases, that something could be their lives. But as part of peace negotiations, it would probably have to be cold, hard cash.

I don’t see why they would recognize the Afghan Constitution, either. President Karzai hasn’t shown much interest in these negotiations (if we can even call them that) and he isn’t offering any power-sharing arrangement or concessions that I am aware of.

It appears to me that the U.S. would like to leave Afghanistan with some dignity and to leave behind something better than an immediate resumption of hellacious civil war. But our leaders have no idea how to make that happen.

You know what? This happens to everyone who invades Afghanistan. Without exception. It’s probably just the unique nature of the place. The Soviets stayed too long and paid a heavy price for it. We should stop trying to save face. We went into Afghanistan to find Usama bin-Laden, rip up his terrorist training camps, and drive the host government from power. We have now done all that. It’s time to declare victory and come home.