Is it possible to just leave Afghanistan?

In a recent article by Tom Engelhardt on truthout.org Mr. Engelhardt makes the case for immediate and hasty withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan. He puts forth comparisons to the Vietnam war, among others, stating that Vietnam is now a prosperous country and all the doomsday scenarios flying around before the withdraw from that country never played out. He feels that we could get away with the same thing here.

And unfortunately, as much as I would like to agree with him and as much as I want our troops to come home safely and as quick as possible. I just don't think it's as viable as he thinks. The Taliban are a much different enemy than the Vietcong were. The Taliban have connections in high places with some of our worst enemies. If the worst possible scenario played itself out and the Taliban took over Afghanistan after our withdraw from the country, it would not be good news for us. We stand a chance here to make a strong political ally for ourselves in the middle east. As long as that is still in the realm of possibility, and it is, it is in our best interest to stay.

Plus, as Mr. Engelhardt pointed out, a withdraw of our troops would not mean zero troop presence in the middle east. We will always have troops there, just like we still have troops stationed in Germany, Japan, Korea, even Vietnam. So if we're going to have troops there anyways, why not keep enough there to really get the job done? It seems to me that Mr. Engelhardt thinks we shouldn't have troops in any of the above listed countries. If he had it his way it'd be nothing but embassies and diplomacy. Which is all well and good, but when diplomacy fails, I think we'd all feel a lot better knowing that we have troops on the ground, ready to protect us and all of our liberties.

In the end, I think what Mr. Engelhardt is asking for is wonderful and would absolutely work, in a perfect world. Unfortunately, we don't live in that world. And in our world, in reality, we have a real chance here to make something of Afghanistan. Withdraw would only plunge the country into darkness, dooming it to be taken over by the Taliban, a group that hates us and would likely seek vengeance for the years of war we waged in their country. We have to leave that country with a government in place that likes us and is committed to being our ally. Even though the task is hard, it does not excuse us from trying.