How Afghan War Turned from Good to Bad

We went to war to make sure that country would never again serve as a haven for terrorists. We were wholly justified in doing that by 9/11. We secured a brilliantly quick victory and then put the country on the back burner, where it simmered and now threatens to boil over in places. President Obama's triumph in ridding the world of Osama bin Laden, hiding in plain sight of the Pakistani military, would have surely been impossible without our base in Afghanistan. But the good war has turned bad. This is now the longest war in our history, and what do we have to show for it? More than 1,900 American soldiers are dead, over 15,000 wounded, and we have spent roughly $1 trillion so far, including some $18 billion in U.S. aid alone, and are spending now at the rate of $4 billion to $6 billion a month.