A good question is what was the UAA-NATO mission goals - to determine if they were met (short term and longer term)?

When I think of the Taliban, I think of the complexities in Pakistan. When I think of Pakistan, I think of the complexities of the Pakistan India relationship p-both kinda friends of teh west.

The USA made a major contribution to the growth of the Taliban (and similar movements) in during the Russion "intervention". It seems unlikely that the current Afganistani government has a low liklihood of changing anything over the long term- as happened with the Russian proped-up regime. Intervetion or not-like 'em or not, the will of the local power forces people and culture will eventially prevail, as it does in most nations.

Taliban-Pakistan-India