While the Taliban and their treatment of women and their destruction of ancient treasures were evil beyond description, those were matters of internal governance. An invasion might have been for the best of motives but would still have been an invasion.

The US "axis of evil" approach was probably never justifiable and accordingly the true motivation for the invasion was probably venal.

Holding the country once invaded was always likely to be as far beyond the USA as it had been beyond the British Empire and the might of the USSR at different times.

Stillness can only come in three ways.

First, the Irish solution: give up, go away, and hope that eventually "outgoing fire" of various kinds will end.

Second, kill every living thing: but people will move back and it will take a huge passage of time for "society" to evolve beyond local warlordry. This will only inflame other destabilising forces.

Third, kill every living thing and salt the soil (or use the modern equivalents or nuclear radiation (anthrax is too hard to contain)). This too will only inflame other destabilising forces.