The Never-Ending War

In the late 70's I was a fan of the British sci-fi drama Dr. Who. During those days, it was actor
Tom Baker who played the Doctor. I remember one particular series of episodes which featured
the genesis of the Daleks, a race of robotic creatures, which were one of the Doctor's nemises.
As I can recall, the Daleks were created by a "mad scientist" working for one of two city-states on a distant planet, which had warring for what might have been centuries. They were intended to be this side's secret weapon, but as all such megalomaniacal endevours turn out, they lost control and eventually everything else.
Which brings me to my topic, our seemingly endless war in Afghanistan. Apparently Gen. David Patraeus, the U.S. commander in theatre, was quoted as saying that we "might be in Afghanistan another 9 or 10 years". Huh? Hell, why not make it 20?...Actually we've been in that country for damn near 30 years already. Remember the Soviet invasion? How many Stinger missiles did we send over to the Jihadis so that they could shoot down Soviet aircraft?
And like that fictional war from Dr. Who, we've taken to using robot weapons...Predators anyone? I don't envision a Terminator-like future, but like all such never-ending wars, this one won't have a happy ending either.