not being able to form a proper government, not being able to provide for the people, and really the infighting that's going to take place. afghanistan has been known for its past war lords and the different factions infighting as you mentioned. and we're seeing a new group of so-called war lords, or powerbrokers, they're going to try to fill that vacuum, and try to take that power from different members of the taliban regime. >> colonel, why do you think it took this long for us to get at this point. it is striking when you think about the u.s., how long it's been a nation, how many military gauge means it has been involved in, that this is on the books, the longest war we have fought. why? >> i think we have a hard time as a nation confronting some very uncomfortable facts. with the end of the cold war, we dropped ourselves the indispensable nation.