Afghanistan's sweet poison (Bernd Riegert, South Asia Monitor)

When United States armed forces were deployed against al Qaeda terrorists and the Taliban regime exactly 15 years ago, no one could have imagined how this operation would turn out. After the attacks of September 11, the goal at the time was to hunt down the terrorists and take away their base of operations. Today, 15 years later, this goal has been only partially achieved. Parts of Afghanistan are still controlled by the Taliban. A new terrorist group called the "Islamic State" has established itself in the Hindu Kush, and terrorists based in the neighboring country of Pakistan still operate in Afghanistan.
The international community realized that the threat of terrorism could only be averted when, as well as against fighting militias, the state of Afghanistan could be organized in such a way that people there had a future. What followed was a massive military operation and an unprecedentedly expensive development program. More than $113 billion (100 million euros) were invested in state infrastructure, security and humanitarian aid.

http://southasiamonitor.org/news/afghanistan-s-sweet-poison/n/19736