The initial American occupation of Afghanistan yanked the reigns of formal control away from Taliban extremists in 2001; a group bent on governing the country with their own harsh version of Sharia law.

The Taliban has never been out of the game entirely, and with significantly less US involvement in the region, the group is poised to re-establish itself more formally in the region and Afghanistan continues to be rife for future conflict.

Estimates put the current cost of US involvement at four million tax payer dollars an hour. What we’ve accomplished in the region with regards to stability and a secure Afghanistan, and an American ROI (Return on Investment) still remains very unclear to many back home.