Originally Posted by
David A. Rowe
The narrative that the Taliban won in Afghanistan is ridiculous. They "won" for two reasons: 1) George Bush hauled back on the reins in the 2000s and 2) They could come and go from Pakistan as they pleased. The "graveyard of armies" thing is bullshit for modern technology and logistics chains. In fact, Afghanistan was almost entirely taken through the efforts of the Special Forces and the Coalition of Northern Tribes.
The government of Afghanistan was never going to last because Afghans aren't, by and large, worth a shit. Sure, there are some dedicated and talented individuals, but centuries of war, poverty and tyranny did a lot to kill as many of them off as possible and suppress the development of the population as a whole. Just look up statistics on how important proper nutrition is to a child's mental and physical development. We should've fed them and taught them for 20 years. We've have two whole generations with another on deck of smarter, stronger and more informed Afghans.
But we just muddled around.