KABUL, Afghanistan — Gen. John Nicholson wrote just one thing on his Christmas list which he mailed to his hero, Santa Claus: A stable Afghanistan built through comprehensive civilian and military efforts taken to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes.

“I keep giving him metrics that make it look like U.S. Forces are accomplishing something,” said Col. Miles Vanden, Nicholson's military aide. “It’s just so cute when he believes, so I can’t quite tell him the progress isn’t real. I’m just going to let him keep it going a few more years. It’s so sad when the magic dies.”