That is how I take it. And as someone else pointed out above, “almost won” = LOST.
Won? Huh? The Soviets lost in Afghanistan, didn't they? They were humiliated and defeated in the Afghan quagmire that the US would helplessly sink into if it invaded now, right?
Nope - the Soviets won in Afghanistan. The famed Mujahaddin had slunk back to the refugee camps in Pakistan, demoralized, dejected, and defeated. I was there, I saw it. It was August, 1986, and the Mujhaddin had given up. The Soviets had won.
So in the modern sense, these ISIS and Taliban can be beaten - as long as they don't have anti-aircraft capabilities. The USA is not into the game of scorched earth and dirty warfare (SEALS tying up Afgahns rather than shooting them dead, etc).