I mean the US also lost to the Taliban after trillions of dollars and 20 years.

> the US also lost to the Taliban after trillions of dollars and 20 years

The Taliban (and Viet Cong) showed the American military is crap at anti-guerilla warfare. Neither hit either American military or industrial capabilities, both of which expanded during those wars.

In contrast, Russia has shifted into a full wartime economy and is still on the net losing assets. It’s an objectively weaker martial and economic force than it was before. That couldn’t be said about the American military post-Afghanistan.

Short attention spans are incapable of appreciating a slow burning low effort war of attrition.