Wow, nobody could've seen that coming! /sarc
My guess is that the military command knew they were in a no-win situation and still went on the offensive to show the flag and as a demonstration of force, without any bigger long-term goal. Showing that we can operate anywhere at will does keep the Taliban in check until we pull out, so the publicized offensive was really still a worthwhile defensive maneuver so they don't get too emboldened trying to score on us big while we're unassing the place. In other words, a very large-scale force-protection move. The other thing with the publicity is that for reasons that make a lot of internal political sense to Karzai, he has become ever more touchy about collateral damage and the publicity minimizes chances of that, much as both the publicity and the extreme sensitivity to collateral damage limit the effectiveness of tactical operations.