There was no to exit Afghanistan that wouldn't have been a disaster. Every invading army into Afghanistan has faced this same dilemma. Both Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan invaded and fought in Afghanistan. The British invaded Afghanistan three time between 1839 to 1842, and their withdrawal was declared to be one of the worst military disasters of the 19th century. The Soviet Union also invaded three separate times in 1929, 1930 and a ten year war from 1979 to 1989. In fact it was during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that the United States and Saudi Arabia began providing funding for the Islamic Mujahideen. After the Soviet withdrawal, infighting within the Mujahideen gave rise to the Warlords in Afganistan from which emerged the Taliban. So as history has clearly shown this was the inevitable outcome once we set boots on the ground in Afganistan, we have just joined an already long list of nations that have experienced this exact scenario. Ultimately when the people of Afganistan truly want to be free they will fight and die for their freedom and then they will eventually win their freedom, just like we did.