Drones require Pakistani bases and airspace. The ones we're using are easier to shoot down than WWII piston engine fighters. Bound as we are by human rights considerations, we can't kill 'em all. The fear is that leaving the Taliban to rule means another $100b attack like 9/11, against which a few billion a year is peanuts. At the same time, I can see at least one good reason to let the government fall. A second 9/11 attack on NYC might finally get the liberals riled up enough to let our guys take the gloves off.
“The fear is that leaving the Taliban to rule means another $100b attack like 9/11, against which a few billion a year is peanuts”
Any country in the world could have contained terrorists capable of hijacking airplanes and plowing them into buildings using box-cutters (at the time). It really was a simple terrorist act to implement. It didn’t require the taliban and afghanistan. Of course having that terrorist-friendly base helped. So we dont rebuild the nation. We just break it when it gets out of control. But more importantly we understand this is a worldwide problem and not fixate on afghanistan.
I do agree there are logistic issues to support drones. But we need that capability in many locations throuhout the world. I just think that is the future not ground troops and nation-building.