I agree with you entirely for step two.
But MacArthur’s(PBUH) constitution was made possible by Iwo Jima, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the resultant complete collapse of any idea of continuing support for an insurgency.
I have often compared Iraq to the forgotten lessons of Philippine-American war (1899-1916) in length, scale and number of US casualties (4800 KIA.) Black Jack Pershing(PBUH) took the final fight out of the resistence the old-fashioned way (200,000 casualties) and then we built the country.
And yet it was a simple act of Pershing that ended the Insurrection.
He took a group of Moros scheduled to be executed to a large pit, then ordered half of them executed and thrown into the pit while the other half witnessed. Then a number of pig carcasses were thrown on top of them, and the pit was buried.
Then he ordered the other prisoners released with instructions that they be allowed to travel home without interference. In just a week or two, word had spread to all the Moro territories, and the Insurrection immediately ended.
I have no illusions about the US pacifying Afghanistan. That must be accomplished by the Afghans. However, we could have trained a central core of educated and capable Afghans that might, after many years, slowly build a country from the chaos.
But as things stand, they have no competent leadership, no national prerogative, a tribal mentality, and an inert and corrupt government.
While the US military worked wonders with the ARVN, and did an amazing job with the Iraqi army, they had a lot of raw materials to work with. With Afghanistan, you can’t make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear.