Why are we in Afghanistan if there's sufficient intelligence to target individual al-Qaeda people?

[Are_grits_groceries]

One of the questions I've been asking in the debate about the wisdom of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan is: if there's sufficient intelligence to target individual al-Qaeda and senior Taliban figures in Pakistan without a large ground presence, as the Obama administration and the CIA claims, then why credit the claim that we need a massive ground presence in Afghanistan to produce and exploit such intelligence?
http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2009/10/02/intelligence-shortfalls-and-the-waziristan-offensive/
<snip>

And now in Pakistan:
Now, on the eve of the Pakistani Army preparing to re-invade South Waziristan, comes this observation from Pakistan's military leadership:

here is a sense within the military establishment that the situation in South Waziristan cannot be allowed to be perpetuated. The blockade is nearly three months old, and the military, which has been conducting limited airstrikes, is running out of targets.

The Pakistani Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, described Waziristan as an intelligence black hole. “We have to move in,” he said recently.
<snip>
In late January 2008, the military began another operation, called Zalzala, or Earthquake, with the declared goal of dislodging Mr. Mehsud. The operation did not cause even a tremor, and only 12 days later, authorities were struggling to revive the peace accord.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/world/asia/02pstan.html?ref=world

They have managed to start getting a lot of HUMINT, and are able to find the people they really say they are after.

Why are we trying to occupy the whole bloody country and build a stable government as McChrystal wants? It ain't gonna happen even if we stay there for a brazillion years with every resource we have.

As seen by the Pakistan info, they are doing the same thing over and over without success. That is a definition of insanity I believe. In addition, it is an "intelligence black hole." There seem to be a lot of people everywhere who have "intelligence black holes" instead of brains.