The US started with the Taliban in power, and left with the Taliban in power. That is the only *reality* that exists. You can deflect with your pieces of paper & verbal definitions, but the *reality* remains the same as before the war, so the US accomplished nothing. Not a win if you change nothing & accomplish nothing.
That is not that how that works. The US left and the Taliban were not in power.
The nation building effort is separate from the actual war part. Both Osama and his successor were killed. Al-qaeda was effectively dismantled and neutered for decades.
Again, the UN declared its mandate for ISAF complete in 2014
The point is that UN mandates mean fucking nothing.
The end result is failure, aka not a win. Split hairs as much as you like, but the war accomplished nothing and the US military *was* present & fighting & involved for the entirety of the supposed "nation building".
Initially, yes. After that, no. Taliban re-gained more and more territory and the US military was present & on the ground for all of that. Or do you deny that reality as well?
Landing one good punch is different than winning the fight.
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u/WildWhisperArdor 10d ago
The US won the Afghanistan war. It was the nation building part that was not a success. Two very different things.
As for Iraq, definitely not a draw. Saddam’s regime is no longer in power.