Good point, the Taliban are thought to be funded by Russia, Pakistan, and opium production. This is why you stick to a smaller limited mission that can be accomplished with a clear exit strategy.
The Israelis have what could be considered the superior approach to addressing "
terrorism". Hunt-down the instigators, one by one, and quietly eliminate them.
There is an old story that may well be an urban myth. The incident occurred in the days when the Soviet Union still existed. According to the "
story", a possible Soviet official of some type was assassinated by a some organization in Syria. The Soviet secret police then hunted-down as many of the people (including family members) they could find who were responsible for the assassination and then mailed the body parts to that organization. That organization never again took an action against a member of the Soviet Union. Obviously assuming that there is any truth to this story, the Soviets were extremely brutal but on the positive side, they "
solved' a terrorist problem.
The story above segues in how the US treats terrorists. The US simply puts them in jail for a few years. That really does not neuter them from being able to instigate terrorist acts from prison or resuming those activities after they are released. The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban resulted in the release from prison of incarcerated Taliban fighters who can now resume terrorist acts against the US. Evidently
Khairullah Khairkhwa falls into that category.
War is a dirty business. Many in the US seem to believe that through empathy and understanding we can resolve problems, such as terrorism. Unfortunately, that leads us to non-solutions that appear humanitarian, but are actually detrimental to our well being. For example, now tha Khairullah Khairkhwa has been released from prison, he may have no reluctance executing one of the people who advocated that his life be preserved. Eliminating the threat of terrorism requires that those using terrorism be eliminated.