Good article.

Back to basics. In olden days, Bactria was fabulously wealthy and important.

Lapis lazuli was important for rich empires far away, and only came from Afghanistan.

Control of the silk road was a huge value in itself. Camels and traders had to sleep safely between legs on the trip, and the caravanserais (truck stops and hotels) were, of themselves, intrinsically valuable.

Plenty of reasons why, in olden days, the territory of Afghanistan was important, valuable, and WAS controlled/partnered/brokered with by its neighbors.

Blue stones are pretty worthless until you trade them with someone else for other good stuff (food).

Silk Road economics and relevance collapsed through climate changes and the European maritime commerce period, when interest and control shifted southward.

Much of the "Big Game" issues, which came long after the value proposition had expired, were for reasons of their own, and not intrinsically valuable to anyone.

It is no surprise that, in recent centuries, none of the "Bog game" players was seriously interested in committing the resources to hold this place for sustainable reasons.

The World always changes, as do the merits for any campaign.

If the merits are fleeting, the campaign will be.