[We do not have the national will to “persist”. That is an illusion and a certain route to failure. We are burning money and lives to no benefit. If we are not going to exterminate the Taliban quickly then we should be leaving quickly. That is “Plan B”.
Preferably unannounced and in a 24-hour period. And kill any forces that get in the way. ]
* We lost thousands dead getting in and probably $500b in the first few years. To give that up for piddling savings ($10b per year) is penny wise and pound foolish. As long as the government is our ally, we have Afghans working to kill the Taliban. The moment the Taliban takes over, the entire Afghan population is at the Taliban’s disposal, to use for generating revenue or protecting al Qaeda. We’re helping the Afghans for the same reason we helped Allied governments during WWII. Every man they had fighting the Axis powers was a man not helping the Axis fight us.
...Our rules of engagement are what they are. I wish they were otherwise, but that’s not really changeable.
That is precisely why we fail.
Change the "rules". Or abandon the "game".