If I had argued that the West cared, that would be one thing. Reading the text of what I wrote, I clearly did not.

Talk to Afghan women. Ask them: Were you better off during 2001 to 2021 than pre-2001 and post-2001? The answer will be clear to you then. And I say this as someone who opposed the war but also opposed the shitty way we left, abandoned the country to the Taliban, and allowed famine and patriarchy to prevail.