From McClatchy:

“America is about to embark on the longest campaign in its longest war, the commander of the U.S. forces in the Middle East told a Charlotte audience Tuesday.

Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, told a crowd of more than 550 at the Westin Charlotte that a civil and military counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan, now revving up, will take about 12-18 months.

“This is going to be a hard year,” he said.”

And the end is not in sight.