I think the distinction is that the insurgents are recruiting fighters while the coalition is building a professional army. One can just shove an AK into the hands of a teenager and turn him into a fighter fairly quickly. But building a professional army which respects the law and civilian authority as well as handle it's own logistics, etc is something different.

Also every Taliban is not some super bad ass warrior. The fighters featured in the "Frontline: Inside the Taliban" documentary were more like keystone cops.
...Just my two cents