Afghanistan has been attacked by various great empires for centuries...going back to the British. All have ultimately failed. One of the worlds materially poorest nations eventually defeated them all. British, Soviets and USA. For decades before US invaded USSR had tried to force its agenda upon Afghanistan. Any nation exposed to such repeated and brutal external aggression will revert to the most reactionary forms of its culture. Left alone over time it might heal. Some chance of that, given Afghanistans strategic location and vast untapped natural resources...and proximity to China.