Realistic Cynicism on Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, the Regressive Inquisition was a hostile occupying force.

In America, the Regressive Inquisition is a hostile occupying force.

In Afghanistan, the Regressives pretended they weren't a hostile occupying force. They pretending that things like 'legitimacy' mattered and that they had to win [hearts and minds]. Just like they pretend not to be a spiteful foreign tyrant in America. The problem is that Afghans aren't nearly as gullible and gaslit as Americans, so Afghans continued to see the Regressive Inquisition as a hostile occupying force. 

Afghans aren't Fascist. They haven't suffered centuries of Christian and Fascist madrassah. The Regressives couldn't just tell them what they like and expect them to start liking it. They had (Gasp, Shock) their own preferences. Regressives failed to appreciate this.

Largely because the Regressives were only doing it out of habit. For any individual Regressive, the point of Afghanistan was graft. Foreign occupation means lots of money flying around, which means abundant opportunities to skim some off the top. Being far from the Imperial centre means oversight is weak. Or rather, competition is weak. In America if you try to demand protection money you'll find someone is already running a protection racket and less than pleased at someone horning in on their territory. Hence, in Afghanistan it was less skimming off the top and more hectic ladling off the top.

Secondarily, had the Inquisition openly acted like the brutal tyrants they in fact are, it would have lead to more order. Stuff would have been done.
If everyone is failing their putative initiatives, then your flagrant corruption isn't particularly embarrassing. Nobody is inspiring envy by doing it better. If every initiative is a boondoggle, then nobody is a boondoggler. Even if someone calls you on one of your graft schemes, you were never planning to do that scheme a second time in any case. If Afghanistan starts working as intended, then you'll have to repeat yourself  and pile up evidence that's it's intentional graft.

P.S. Most new government programs in America are attempts to open up virgin protection rackets to give to someone as a bribe. Regressives aren't serious about global warming; they're drooling about how many supporters they could pay off by offering to let them embezzle the carbon tax. 

P.P.S. Normally there would be a small possibility that the Afghan "war" was ended due to finally starting to cost the Blue Empire more than it was worth, but the timing doesn't work out.
Nobody with real power did not know calling the withdrawal a [clusterfuck] would be a kind euphemism for how it would play out. They would have preferred this to happen under Trump. Trump didn't know and wouldn't even have opposed it. 

P.P.P.S. Oil? Lol. Iran's oil is relevant because it's the reason they have a rivalry with the Sauds. Maybe there was some oil-related posturing in Afghanistan, but unless they were successfully disrupting Iranian oil operations, it's a puppet show for the ignorant peasants.