[C210N]

Afghanistan has seen Soviets come and go... who would/could have thunk that the US would come, but then go more like the Soviets did?

[Georgia Girl 2]

Afghanistan has seen everybody come and go at one time. Nobody ever learns the lesson. After we leave they will go back to killing and raping each other with great abandonment. Its who they are.

[TWhiteBear]

It is fallacious to compare Afghanistan to Iraq in many ways, geography,political system, religion come to mind.
The better model would be French Vietnam. The US is isolated, no good access or exit, the people do not like us, there is nothing of real geopolitical value there...and a defeat in Afghanistan would destroy what is left of US credibility.
And it looks ridiculous now to say that we, after ten some years, are killing our way out of a problem. Iraq and Libya are violent, hate the US and the West, and we still have forces(regular or militarized State Department employees or mercenaries) there. An endless war at unlimited cost is not a sane or realistic strategy, except in the minds Colonel Blimps fighting past wars again. We are getting repeatedly slapped in head and then claiming victory because the other guy has a sore hand. We have taken casualties, killed God knows who or how many or why, spent a trillion or so dollars and now we have a gutted military, oil at $108 per barrel, and a Weimer Republic/Zimbabwe uncountable debt. I do not know how many subtle strategic victories like that we can take.
The only way out of our chosen sandstorm may be very painful.
TWB

[Lazamataz]

Afghanistan has seen Soviets come and go... who would/could have thunk that the US would come, but then go more like the Soviets did?

It makes sense. First, we beat the Soviet Union. Then we became them.