US is the largest economy but won't remain forever. Most powerful country for countries like pak not for independent countries. It spent trillions in afg to wipe terrorism and tangos yet both are there. So how do u define most powerful military? Yes it has numbers but what difference that made on ground?
An advice don't limit urself to American superiority complex. Every empire has eventually fallen.
Treat all equally. Don't consider others any less like khaki creatures do.
Who cares about forever? WE focus on the present when discussing a topic.
You are forgetting that US-led forces toppled Afghan Taliban setup and defeated Al-Qaeda Network in Tora Bora sector of Afghanistan (the most challenging area to fight battles in Afghanistan) in
2002. Afghan Taliban lost thousands of men and pieces of equipment in this operation and survivors fled to Pakistan.
From that point, war in Afghanistan shifted from CONVENTIONAL phase to COIN phase with CIA in search of Al-Qaeda terrorists who fled to Pakistan. Terrorists do not wear uniforms and chasing these people will take time obviously.
Pakistan provided access to Afghanistan so US had to work with Pakistan to find and nab as many terrorists as possible. Pakistan was in the position to preserve its interests in Afghanistan due to this situation.
What do you think US would have done? Bomb entire cities to dust in search of terrorists? This isn't World War and American survival was not at stake in the war.
But US-led forces did give Taliban nightmares. These people eventually had to come to the negotiation table and accept American condition to not support Al-Qaeda Network in exchange for withdrawal of American troops. This deal was finalized in 2020.
You can talk big from a distance but ask those who experience war and are uprooted in the process.
Afghan War real cost is 1 Trillion USD due to massive logistics lines and creating an alternate Afghanistan government. Who says that it is cheap to rule over a country?
I am just pointing out a simple fact.
Ever seen an Ohio class submarine? This submarine alone can wipe out a continent, let alone Afghanistan. THINK.
US is not lacking in options or insecure. It is a powerful country and looking forward to make profits from these regional conflicts. But who can reason with local hot heads.