Posted by Dayuhan,

True enough, though we do have to recognize that the Taliban and their Pakistani backers have to a large extent adopted a global Islamist narrative: they aren't just good nationalists that are being worked. It is very likely that they will end up supporting and protecting people who want to kill Americans. That's not necessarily a reason to stay, just means there's a good chance we'll have to do it all again, hopefully smarter.
Agree with the jist of your comment, but what exactly will we have to do all over again?

First, we're not leaving, we're downsizing/rightsizing, but I guess you could make the same argument that we said that about Vietnam also.

I still don't think we'll have to occupy the nation again, we may very well have to conduct large scale raids to wipe out terrorist nests if they're stupid enough to consolidate forces. That is a lot cheaper and more effective than trying to change a society, an activity that seems to be generating as much resentment towards us as good will.