Washington ? Brazen Taliban attacks in and around Afghanistan’s capital Kabul this week demonstrate the power of the insurgency to strike directly at foreign forces on Afghan soil.

A sobered U.S. military is studying whether these Taliban efforts to reach outside their rural home base are part of a new campaign to target NATO forces, foreign diplomats, contractors and Afghan government officials.

The attacks come as the number of U.S. military deaths approach the 1,000 mark, and at a time when Americans are looking for progress in a long and costly war.

A majority of Americans — 52 percent — now says the war is not worth it, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The dip in support follows a brief rise last year after President Barack Obama refocused the U.S. war plan.

A Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, said it is too soon to say whether the attacks are part of a coordinated Taliban strategy. “I would be cautious about drawing conclusions about two events,” Whitman said.