I was deployed in Afghanistan in 2013

[Hortensis]

44. :) Someone finally mentioned the words "religion" and "culture."

Another huge factor is that Afghanistan's, like almost all the ME cultures, is strongly conservative. Conservative resists change, and comparatively western culture is incredibly more liberal. We're not talking about moving from the 1950s to today but more like centuries in some ways.

I've read that in rural Afghanistan, and among many in cities, religion is tied up in every part of life, to a degree most westerners couldn't begin to understand and to the point that many Afghanis can't conceive of government that would not be Islamic. More like Europe was in the medieval era under Christianity.

Also, attempts to establish a stable centralized government of the modern era, with power to control and advance the wellbeing of an entire nation, have been failing as long as they've been trying; not just this time.