imo
The two most important things to take from the US Presidents address on strategy on the Afghan war, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall are:
The rules of engagement (ROE) for troops in Afghanistan: The US president states - "[Our] brave defenders of the American people, will have the necessary tools and rules of engagement to make this strategy work. But we will no longer use American military might to construct democracies in far away lands, or try to rebuild other countries in our own image – those days are now over".
In early 2015 the Combat Mission in Afghanistan had ended, changing the rules of engagement, allowing the Taliban to regain much of it's lost control, and for a time, take control over the lucrative heroin fields in Helmand.
Second is that the Micromanagement from the Whitehouse has been severed. The US President stated that “micromanagement from Washington, DC does not win battles.” The US Military will have a clear and direct objective and has shifted from a “time-based approach to one based on conditions”.
It's too early to tell what this means long term, but in 6 months it should be clear to see improvements in the Afghanistan national stability and a new plan to withdraw long term. If not, then it will be very likely the US people will have been sold out again.
Prop4Peace.