U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday he believes victory in Afghanistan is still possible -- not necessarily on the battlefield but in facilitating a Taliban reconciliation with the Afghan government.

Mattis, a retired Marine general who commanded U.S. troops in southern Afghanistan in the opening weeks of the war in 2001, said getting the Taliban to reconcile en masse may be "a bridge too far".

"We know there is interest on the Taliban side," he said.

He defined victory in Afghanistan as a political settlement between the Taliban and the government, and an Afghan military that is capable of securing the country largely on its own.

Mattis has said that the U.S. goal is to enable Afghan forces to weaken the Taliban to the point where the Afghans can manage their own security.

On the military front, U.S. officials assert that years of effort to build a credible and effective Afghan army and air force are beginning to pay off.

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