Afghanistan is widely regarded as the more legitimate of America’s two Middle Eastern wars, but after eight years of stagnated nation-building its future seems to hold less promise than Iraq’s. The US will complete a full military pullout of Iraq by December 2011, while its stake in Afghanistan increases indefinitely.

The White House authorized on the sly the deployment of 13,000 ’support troops’ to supplement the 21,000 already sent to Afghanistan since President Obama took office. If the White House grants General McChrystal’s recent request for 60,000 more troops, US presence in the country will almost double.

Sen. John McCain is one of many Republicans pressuring President Obama to trust Gen. McChrystal’s judgment, while Democrats are far more hesitant about deploying more soldiers in what has already become America’s third longest conflict. McCain expects the same tactics that ‘worked’ in Iraq to work in Afghanistan. “Once the security in Iraq got better because of the surge, the Iraqis stepped up,” McCain argued.

But as NBC’s Richard Engel explains, the situations on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan are not all that similar. Unlike in Iraq, no civil war rages in Afghanistan. Though the Taliban insurgency claims significant civilian casualties, Engel claims that American protection is not coveted by Afghans because they don’t feel like the direct targets of the Taliban. From Engel’s report it seems, if anything, that US presence in Afghanistan legitimizes the Taliban’s violent resistance to “foreign oppressors.” A.J. Rossmiller at The New Republic calls he counter-insurgency a stalemate and makes a compelling argument for seeking a political compromise now that a military victory seems no more than a pipe dream.

This an undoubtedly bleak outlook on the war. Engel elaborates on the personal hardships suffered by US soldiers he befriended while reporting in Afghanistan. He makes a somber point by asking, “how many deployments can a marriage take?”

The Obama administration looks likely to increase its diplomatic presence in the region, in addition to its military one. McClatchy reports that a $1 billion plan will build US embassies and housing in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The investment in infrastructure demonstrates the Obama administration’s commitment to the region — a long-term commitment that may sadly spell the end for many individual ones.