Historically, war has lasted a long time:  Yes this has gone on for a long time, but look at it in the scope of history:

American Revolution: Start date April 19, 1775   British Surrender at Yorktown: October 19, 1781 - 2,314 days   Treat of Paris: September 3, 1783 - 3,059 days   Last British Forces to leave, from New York City: November 25, 1783 - 3,142 days   Signed by Congress: January 14, 1784 - 3,192 days   Finishing of Constitution: September 17, 1787 - 4,543 days
Ratification of Constitution: March 4, 1789 - 5,068 days   Washington elected President, assumes office: April 30, 1789 - 5,125 days
Quasi-War, or Undeclared War with France  Starts: July 7, 1798  Ends: September 30, 1800 - 815 days
Barbary Wars  First: (now there should be some *real* start date to this... and this german site gives 1 May... so be it!) May 1, 1801  End: June 10, 1805 - 1,501 days
Second: March 13, 1815  End: June 30, 1815 - 107 days
Northwest Indian War  Start - Treaty of Wyandot: January 21, 1785 End: August 3, 1795 - 3,846 days
War of 1812  Start: June 8, 1812  Treaty of Ghent: ratified & proclaimed - February 18, 1815 - 975 days
Mexican-American War  Hostilities start for cassus belli: April 24, 1846
Declaration of War by US: May 13, 1846 - 19 days  End: February 2, 1848 - 649 days
US Civil War  Fighting starts: April 12, 1861
Last Confederate forces to surrender: CSS Shenandoah November 4, 1865 - 1,667 days
Western Indian Wars - cumulative, used to show duration of struggle
Start: Arikara War - June 1, 1823 (citation)  End: October 5, 1898 - 27,520 days
Philippine-American War  Start: February 4, 1899
End: May 1, 1902 (last capable general surrenders while sick and his forces in April) - 1,181 days
The Philippine Autonomy Act (Jones Law) - August 29, 1916 - 6,415 days
Philippine Sovereignty - July 4, 1946 - 17,316 days
Boxer Rebellion   Start: June 11, 1898  End: June 7, 1901 - 1,091 days
World War I - US involvement to last treaty signed  Start: April 6, 1917
Armistice: November 11, 1918 - 584 days  Treaty of Lausanne: July 24, 1923 - 2,300 days
World War II - US involvement  Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941
Japan surrenders to US: August 14, 1945 - 1,346 days  Japan surrenders to China: September 9, 1945 - 1,372 days
Korean War  Start: June 25, 1950  Armistice: July 27, 1953 - 1,128 days
Vietnam War - Official US involvement, although troops had been sent to Vietnam under Truman in 1950  Start: November 1, 1955  End: Signature of Foreign Assistance Act, ending all support of South Vietnam - December 30, 1974 - 6,999 days
1991 Gulf War  Start: Iraq invades Kuwait - August 2, 1990
Ceasefire: February 27, 1991 - 209 days
Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan component
Initial attack: September 11, 2001  Constitutional Legislative Elections: September 18, 2005 - 1,468 days
Iraq War - Operation Iraqi Freedom  Congressional Authorization for the Use of Force: October 11, 2002   Invasion of Iraq: March 20, 2003 - 160 days   Iraqi conventional forces declared defeated: May 1, 2003 - 202 days   Iraqi Legislative Election : January 30, 2005 - 842 days   Iraqi voting on Constitution: October 15, 2005 - 1,100 days
Constitutional Legislative Elections: December 15, 2005 - 1,161 days
Government of Iraq: May 20, 2006 - 1,317 days

 

And this war is not conventional. 

 

P.S.  What do you think would be accomplished in  three days?  Curiousity strikes

Source:  http://ajacksonian.blogspot.com/2006/08/wars-short-wars-long.html