Should have never set foot in Afghanistan.
A month of B-52 raids daily would have done as much as was needed.
In 2001 I suggested the same, coupled with a complete travel ban on Muslims from most countries of South Asia, Mid-East and North Africa.
Even back then, our only concern in Af-Pak was that its a Muslim terrorist hotbed. Keep them all out of the US, and the problem drops to zero.
Bush listening to Colin Powell’s crap, you break it you own it nation building garbage doomed the Afghan mission when you throw in fighting a lawyer-PC war. No nation has ever been successful in this third world crap hole and Powell and the US military should have taken a lesson from history and fought a different kind of war with the Taliban.
We should have used air power and limited special forces, in and out. I wish this general could give me a logical reason for staying, so far I haven’t heard one yet. Take out their poppy fields, and be ready to hit them with airstrikes and limited special forces raids as needed but staying one more day in this PC war is beyond wasteful.
I would not necessarily have opposed a proper punitive expedition in October or November 2001 - 30 days or less, land, kill their leaders break their sh*t, and leave with a warning that they would be dealing with Ohio-class missile boats next time.
I was STRONGLY in favor of using nuclear weapons once OBL was confirmed in Tora Bora in December 2001.
Since January 1, 2002, it’s all been a tragic waste.
Low yield nuclear weapons and neutron bombs for a while.