The article makes some excellent points. It calls for a lot more engagement and resources to succeed in Afghanistan and it does not shy away from the cost of such an effort. Given that, I find it quite honest, but also quite problematic, that the call for such an effort comes after this:

Afghanistan has become accepted as the more morally just yet the less strategically important war. Afghanistan does not sit astride tremendous natural resources nor the Sunni-Shia fault line, it is not geographically in the heart of the Middle East nor enormously influential in terms of the future ideological or cultural direction of the region.
The question the author doesn't address is if the cost is worth it in terms of benefits to the United States. ISTM this is the big pole in the tent of Afghanistan - given enough time and resources we might be able to turn Afghanistan into something resembling a modern third world state that might be a lasting bulwark against international takfiri jihadists, but what cost is worth such an effort?