So to this Afghanistan problem, the only solution I see is an orderly NATO withdrawal now, rather than an ignominious retreat later. If the US breaks its NATO toy as a result, too bad.
An "ignominious retreat" may well be the result to be wished for. NATO sufficiently weakened, then just maybe Europe will start seeing the necessity of an European defence.
I would be kind of optimistic, were it not for the fact that Europe goes 1 step forward then 2 step backwards in terms of defence independence.
We do live depressing times...
The lesson is that the invasion and endless occupations of countries is not the answer to the conditions that lead to many young Muslim men to take up Wahhabist extremism, nor does endless occupation provide a solution to addressing repressive patriarchal societies that abuse women and children.
Democracy and free societies cannot be spread out the barrel of a gun, require decades to be put into acceptance in some areas of the world, and must be accepted as legitimate by the target population. (Take a look at Russia.) So as long as the many in the Afghanistan population believe that repressive patriarchal life is acceptable and even part of religious belief, there can be little done to solve the core of the "Afghanistan problem" in the near future.
