Content Warning: This section contains accounts of war-related violence.

Why did officials consider the war just or necessary, despite all the suffering it caused and the problems that came with it? Are there any fundamental mistakes that, had the US avoided them, could have made this a relatively successful war?

Should the US have included Taliban remnants in the newly formed Afghan government? Would that have made the country more stable, or would it have put a hostile power within the government and thereby made it all the more able to undermine it from within?

Whitlock emphasizes how the US constantly cut corners in its efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. Would a greater commitment to resources earlier on have made a difference, or was the effort in Afghanistan doomed no matter what?