It’s the same in Afghanistan, but Iraq was all sewn up till Obama walked away.
I have a bud that had to go reliberate Musa Qala in Afghanistan after NATO walked away.
We went in, took the place with great bloodshed, then held it for 6 years or so, fortified it, built roads and then walked away.
The Taliban came howling out of the hills, grabbed the place said thanks very much for the new fortifications and started raising hell.
Then my bud has to go in and root them out again.
Pretty senseless BS.
We learned in Viet Nam how to lose people taking a village, then leave it, then lose people taking it back again, rinse repeat.