(CNN) -- We are losing in Afghanistan, on two fronts. The most important center of gravity of the conflict -- as the Taliban well recognizes -- is the American public. And now, most Americans are opposed to the war. For years, Afghanistan was "the forgotten war," and when Americans started paying attention again -- roughly around the time of President Obama's inauguration -- what they saw was not a pretty sight: a corrupt Afghan government, a world-class drug trade, a resurgent Taliban and steadily rising U.S. casualties. Many surely thought: Didn't we win this war eight years ago? Americans, of course, hate seeing the deaths of fellow citizens in combat, but even more they hate to see those deaths in the service of a war they believe they are either not winning or maybe even losing, which is one of the reasons why they largely turned against the Iraq war in 2006.
@highlight
Peter Bergen: Most Americans now oppose the war in Afghanistan
@highlight
He says U.S., Afghan government don't provide basic security
@highlight
Hobbes said life in nations without security is "nasty, brutish and short"
@highlight
Bergen: Obama has to add troops if he is serious about repelling Taliban
Without providing that security, as @placeholder wrote three and half centuries ago, governments of any kind will fail at their most basic task.