https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/taliban-afghanistan
Do Afghans support the Taliban?

For years after its fall from power, the Taliban enjoyed support. The U.S.-based nonprofit organization Asia Foundation found in 2009 [PDF] that half of Afghans—mostly Pashtuns and rural Afghans—had sympathy for armed opposition groups, primarily the Taliban. Afghan support for the Taliban and allied groups stemmed in part from grievances against public institutions.

But in 2019, a response to the same survey found that only 13.4 percent of Afghans had sympathy for the Taliban [PDF]. As intra-Afghan peace talks stalled in early 2021, an overwhelming majority surveyed said it was important to protect [PDF] women’s rights, freedom of speech, and the current constitution. Around 44 percent of Afghans surveyed said they believed that Afghanistan could achieve peace in the next two years.

*I do not understand why the media is appalling about what is happening in Afghanistan. 
As far as I remember they have been reporting that the Taliban will take over as soon as 

U.S. troops leave Afghanistan in months if not years. The U.S. and U.S.-supported Afghan 

governments failed to attract Afghan people's hearts. The bottom line is "the people's

support" for a government to survive. Perhaps Afghan people have chosen the Taliban 

instead of the U.S.-backed corrupted government for now.

Since Cold War began, proxy wars fought in Korean Peninsula and French 

Indochina. In Indochina, the U.S.-supported troops were lacking "fighting spirits"

against communist. But communists fought fiercely against proxy troops

for the U.S..  And U.S. troops were not accepted by the public. 
 

In Korea, they fought each other fiercely. And South Koreans welcomed US troops in 

open arms. Consequently, the nations in Indochina became united communist countries

and Korea is divided but the half is a hell and the other half is one of the most prosperous 

country in the world. 

That’s what you believe, doc! Indeed, all the 수구꼴통 like me would share your belief, but, regretfully, not so by the majority! You don't buy my concern? Look, all the (SK) peoples love Moony and his followers so that they are eager to reelect 좌빨 next year to strengthen their plan to hand over hard-earned freedom (not by them but by 수구꼴통) to 김정은 whenever they are ready- I bet a minute after the U.S. troops should pull out. 전작권? No kidding, no way!

Listen, buddy, when and if the U.S. army should get pulled out, God forbids, from South Korea, you know what would happen, don't you? I don’t want to talk too much about some of the inside stories involved to the contingency evacuation plan for the worst scenario by the U.S. embassy for the U.S. citizens from Seoul through one nearby airstrip that the U.S. army can control. But I was really alarmed with zero-trust to South Koreans, not better than Afghanis, sadly!!!

BB Lee

Doc, the Afghan people have never learned true democratic "freedom" during the U.S. occupation.

The only thing they saw was a strange Christian religion and a whole lot of corruptions

in their new puppet government created by the U.S.

They obviously gave a damn on the new government. It was not any better.

Those people are born Islams, deeply brain-washed for their entire life that cannot be erased.

Nothing in the world can change them.

Only people who tasted "freedom" were the new Afghan government officials.

Dr. Ohn, the North Korean people did not choose the communist regime.

They were all forced into it without any choice. Some brave ones ran to the South

across the 38 parallel just like "my family" in 1945. Almost everyone in the North knew

that communism was not what they wanted. Then, in 1945, we were surprisingly well informed.

Those who stayed at home had gotten stuck forever and become the victim.

Doc, you are about 6 years younger than me and you may not have a mature appreciation

of communism... but I hope and I am sure you knew the whole truth already.

The Koreans are much different from the Afghans because they are not the Islams

and are much smarter and more independent. They won't be easily overrun like Afghans.

Please don't worry too much about the fate of South Koreans, no matter what happens,

or whoever becomes the new president.

Dr. Lee, I think you are worrying too much. Please let them get whatever they deserve.

Truly, whatever happens to them is none of our business.

Please just enjoy the destiny "you and I" had chosen by our own decision.

There is nothing much we, the Korean Americans, can do anyway as of today.

As you said, Steve, the Afghan people have never learned true(?) democratic "freedom" during the U.S. occupation but I have to remind you that they are a smart people with full of intellectuals more than Koreans, as exposed to Western culture from the era of Alexander the Great. But as the victim of geopolitics sitting on the crossroad, we all are familiar with, they had to abandon their homeland through four major waves of exodus and almost all upper-class peoples/families leading the country were more or less forced(?) to abandon their country and now settled elsewhere including the U.S.  Now only uneducated poor class belonging to the bottom of the society remain as majority struggling with Taliban!

BB Lee 

Statement by President Joe Biden on Afghanistan

AUGUST 14, 2021•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

Over the past several days, I have been in close contact with my national security team to give them direction on how to protect our interests and values as we end our military mission in Afghanistan.

First, based on the recommendations of our diplomatic, military, and intelligence teams, I have authorized the deployment of approximately 5,000 U.S. troops to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of U.S. personnel and other allied personnel, and an orderly and safe evacuation of Afghans who helped our troops during our mission and those at special risk from the Taliban advance.

Second, I have ordered our Armed Forces and our Intelligence Community to ensure that we will maintain the capability and the vigilance to address future terrorist threats from Afghanistan.

Third, I have directed the Secretary of State to support President Ghani and other Afghan leaders as they seek to prevent further bloodshed and pursue a political settlement. Secretary Blinken will also engage with key regional stakeholders.

Fourth, we have conveyed to the Taliban representatives in Doha, via our Combatant Commander, that any action on their part on the ground in Afghanistan, that puts U.S. personnel or our mission at risk there, will be met with a swift and strong U.S. military response.

Fifth, I have placed Ambassador Tracey Jacobson in charge of a whole-of-government effort to process, transport, and relocate Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other Afghan allies. Our hearts go out to the brave Afghan men and women who are now at risk. We are working to evacuate thousands of those who helped our cause and their families.

That is what we are going to do. Now let me be clear about how we got here.

America went to Afghanistan 20 years ago to defeat the forces that attacked this country on September 11th. That mission resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden over a decade ago and the degradation of al Qaeda. And yet, 10 years later, when I became President, a small number of U.S. troops still remained on the ground, in harm’s way, with a looming deadline to withdraw them or go back to open combat.

Over our country’s 20 years at war in Afghanistan, America has sent its finest young men and women, invested nearly $1 trillion dollars, trained over 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, equipped them with state-of-the-art military equipment, and maintained their air force as part of the longest war in U.S. history. One more year, or five more years, of U.S. military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me.

When I came to office, I inherited a deal cut by my predecessor—which he invited the Taliban to discuss at Camp David on the eve of 9/11 of 2019—that left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001 and imposed a May 1, 2021 deadline on U.S. Forces. Shortly before he left office, he also drew U.S. Forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500. Therefore, when I became President, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our Forces and our allies’ Forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country’s civil conflict. I was the fourth President to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan—two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.

By all means, Biden is absolutely right!  He has no other option but only to pull out the U.S. troops completely as the U.S. did previously at Vietnam. Twenty years is more than enough and one more year, or five more years, of U.S. military presence would not make any difference as he correctly pointed out.

Too bad but that is all for Afghanistan with no leadership and no will power to fight.  But deep down in my heart, I cannot help but worry about the fate of South Korea whenever I think about the U.S. troops at DMZ, whom many SK peoples call 'persona non grata' nowadays - embarrassingly, I heard/confirmed from one U.S. army colonel!-.

BB Lee

P.S. While I was in Seoul to organize/found the surgery program for Samsung Medical Center during my double tenure at the Hopkins, I had a unique opportunity to serve to POTUS, Clinton and Bush, as a Surgeon in Charge whenever he should come to Far East Asia. But at the same time, I also served to VP Al Gore and also Mme Secretary of State Albright when they visited to SK extending their visit to DMZ. So I had to meet quite a few senior members of the U.S. Army to arrange/discuss a medical evacuation plan for them as well and became their personal friends close enough to share the dinner together with the U.S. Embassy personnel infrequently till I left Korea to be back home to the States. Through them, I learned the first-hand information on the security issue including the relationship with the ROK army in addition to their perception of SK people.