“... England tried it way back in 1860’s and Russia now us.” [SkyDancer, post 2]
“There hasn’t been a single army since and including the army of Alexander the Great, that has been successful in Afghanistan...” [BuffaloJack, post 7]
The conceit that Afghanistan can neither be taken nor held is not as well-supported by the historical record as many think.
The British were not beaten. They went in to counter the Imperial Russians, who had given indications they might attack India by that route. When Russian attention turned elsewhere, the British walked away.
The USSR was on the verge of complete success when American Stinger anti-aircraft missiles were sent in. The Soviet effort collapsed because their air power was negated.
Americans have enjoyed successes there to a degree as great as any other power, at least as early.
We must remember that in Afghanistan, we are up against cultures possessing a very different concept of what constitutes short-term and when that transitions to long-term.
To us Americans, long term begins before the next election cycle, or even the next sports season.
To the Afghans, short term isn’t even reached after the passage of 50 to 100 years.
Until American citizens can reconcile this disparity, our actions in the wider world will face difficulties.
It didn’t have to be this way.
46 Fascinating Photos Of 1960s Afghanistan Before The Taliban
https://allthatsinteresting.com/1960s-afghanistan
A British incursion into Afghanistan ended in disaster in 1842 when an entire British army, while retreating back to India, was massacred. Only a single survivor made it back to British-held territory. It was assumed the Afghans let him live to tell the story of what had happened.
On January 6, 1842, the British began their withdrawal from Kabul. About 4,500 British troops and 12,000 civilians who had followed the British Army to Kabul left the city. The plan was to march to Jalalabad, about 90 miles away.
The Brits left Afghanistan right after that.