Yadda wrote on Sep 19^th, 2014 at 9:15pm:


No, they didn't.  Their strategy though, was flawed and poorly executed.  Why?  Primarily because President Bush decided to take revenge on the man who, "tried to kill my daddy!"  By withdrawing troops from Afghanistan to take part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Taliban was given a breathing space to regroup and recruit with the result they could and did come back from near defeat.   Secondarily, they allowed the Taliban to utilise safe havens in Pakistan's NW frontier states.   This meant they had bases which the US couldn't and wouldn't attack, so the border was not sealed.  The Taliban could and did freely move back and forth between Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Thirdly, the NATO allies of the US were casualty adverse, preferring to stay in their bases and not venture out into the countryside, so the Taliban had a largely free reign and could control the rural population, a classic mistake of counter-insurgency warfare.