Visiting Afghanistan today, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter echoed recent gloomy reports from the Pentagon on the ongoing occupation of the nation, adding that he anticipates another "hard year" in 2016 as the Taliban continues to seize territory and the Afghan security forces also struggle to cope with a growing ISIS presence.

2015 was a definite struggle, despite the Pentagon touting the ability of the Afghan military to at the very least stand its ground against the Taliban, the Afghan forces have faced soaring casualties and have lost ground on many fronts, even though the Taliban is engaged in an internal leadership battle.