The United States moved into Afghanistan in 2001, chasing out Osama bin Laden as well as the Taliban from power. Twenty years later, it pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban returned to Kabul! The Afghanistan government, too, safely vanished hours before the Taliban entered the city. What was the trajectory of this bizarre turn of events? Did the US achieve the original goals of its operation in Afghanistan? Why did it take twenty years to end the war on terror here when it could finish this in Iraq in about eight years? Did the Taliban play a role in helping the US achieve its goals? How is Taliban 2.0 different from Taliban 1.0?