All told, the country has been overrun by the Persians, Alexander, Medes, the Achaemenid Empire (both Persian), the Mauryans and Greco-Bactrians, Huns, Arabs, and Mongols.
OK. Now, turning to more modern times, how often has Afghanistan been conquered and by whom? (Since the advent of firearms in the hands of the Afghans.) The Brits couldn’t; the Soviets couldn’t; WE aren’t gonna be able to do it, especially the way we’ve been going about things. So what to do? I say it’s long past time to get our folks out of the target zone and get ‘em home. (That, by the way, is ALSO the feeling of a lot of mid-level and senior staff NCOs that I’ve talked with who are just back from there. They are not allowed to win and so there’s no reason to paint one more bullseye on one more American troop for no good purpose.)