The issue is who we put in charge. We probably need to set up strongmen with personality cults and stop working with these sleazy Karzai type corrupt machine politicians. As unpalatable was that may be, it might be the only way to pull out without beardies taking over. We need to be looking for a way out and evaluating strategies based on “what gets us out of here for real and for good?”
That may mean sacrificing other objectives that some hold dear. It may mean letting other countries increase their influence there or having US leverage over third parties weakened.
The alternative is to let this fester and do another 2006 on us when people get sick and finally react:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,_2006
How much does it cost to get your own dictator to be loyal to you? He needs enough money to satisfy himself and those loyal to him. Whatever that cost is, I’m sure it’s a fraction of the current cost.
We can have a few thousand troops there like we do in SK just in case and a few airbases to support the local strongman’s army to chase aq. We have the country pacified and are not nation building. We just have to stop the fantasy of thinking we can have a democracy over there. And we’d have to turn our heads as the dictator does what has to be done to keep order.