From 9-11 to Current Occupation

Almost immediately after 9/11, the US pursued Al Qaeda into Afghanistan but they escaped to Pakistan. However the US did not pursue the insurgent terrorist group over the border and instead chose to occupy Afghanistan and promised the impossible: to build democratic nation
The mission in Afghanistan was declared a success within its first three months as the US quickly put a provisional political system in place and selected a promising local Pashtun politician Hamid Karzai as president.
Regrettably, The US gave Karzai the power to construct his cabinet and instead of choosing by merit, it is widely agreed that he became corrupt and chose only influential Pashtuns, loyal henchmen, and people willing to offer bribes for high positions (including in the military and police forces). Karzai’s government thrives on US involvement and has yet to show any equal commitment to sustain Afghanistan without large amounts of US aid.
Because of post-9/11 occupation of the country, the Taliban dissipated and became strongly disorganized and disliked. However, beginning when the US turned its focus to Iraq in 2003, the Taliban was given the time to recuperate and reorganize as an insurgent political faction.
The Taliban is supported by traditional tribes in the north who hold familial ties with many Taliban soldiers, and an illegal poppy farming industry in the south which fuels consistent drug revenue. Most people are simply unwilling to work with the US soldiers who are seen as an even greater threat to Afghani families.
American’s fear the Taliban and Al Qaeda arises from the difficulty of distinguishing them from the common man. They have no signature mark so they are able to go by US soldiers unnoticed, which aids their terror on a global level, as we saw with many American’s reactions and irrational fear of a “Muslim enemy” immediately post-9/11.

Ultimately the Taliban is kept alive by the fundamentalist jihadist fervor which many people feel connected to through the guise of Islam, the large and near unconquerable size of country, deeply rooted tribal and family tradition, an enormous monetary flow from the poppy industry, and the use of Pakistan as a sanctuary as the recent matter of Osama Bin Laden has brought to the public eye.
US troops’ primary course of action is "to secure and serve the population" in hopes that the people will reject insurgency (COIN). To some criticism from those who believe in traditional war tactics, the US army has been acting as a sort of giant peace corp. in Afghanistan and soldiers are “expected to act as nation builders as well as warriors”.
The job of our military in Afghanistan has become to
- Protect the population (though there are not nearly enough troupes to ensure the safety of every person. Additionally, Afghanis are hesitant to work with the US troops who haven’t seemed to show any signs of victory yet)
- Give money to legitimize the national government (after the US military adopted the term "dollars are bullets", deciding to gives money to grassroots organizations however with the corrupt economy much of the money has found its way to insurgents and unintentionally provided them with the proverbial “bullets”)
- Put competent officials in place (however Afghanistan is historically seen as a strong aristocracy and not a meritocracy which would foster a progressive democratic state. Additionally, counterinsurgency is nearly impossible to promote when many high ranked officials have family who are Taliban)
Unfortunately, as we come to Obama’s June 2011 deadline to begin to pull out troops, our occupation has left Afghanistan now dependent on the US for governance and stability