I’m not sure about the American public but the politicians know all too well what they are doing and what the result will be. It’s all happened before. Vietnam is the prime example. America got stuck in a conflict with no apparent end, and the financial cost and the political negativity of a steady but relatively small stream of dead Americans was too much. America never ‘gives up’ in a conflict, so they did that paper thin charade peace talks thing where the south was basically forced to make a peace deal with the north – an agreement neither side had any intention of honouring and the agreement was even violated by both sides the day of and the day after the signing. The peace deal allowed America to back away. They eased their guilt about abandoning south Vietnam by giving them a ton of supplies; trucks, helicopters etc. But ultimately they left and the South fell. America knew that would happen but they simply felt they didn’t want to pay for the war anymore. The exact same happened in Afghanistan, only this time the US wee smarter. They held talks with the taliban which apparently went nowhere. Oh but they did. America ‘trained up’ the Afghan forces so they could leave with a clear conscience and of course the country soon fell. Just like before. Only this time, the taliban have clear “don’t shoot at Americans” orders in place. That’s those talks. American politicians know exactly what they are doing and what the result would be. They even called in the taliban to negotiate a safety for their last people once the taliban take over everything. Afghanistan was betrayed by the US, but then, they couldn’t keep paying out for this war forever. That’s the real lesson for any group that wants to force America out of a foreign country. Grind them down. America will eventually count the cost and make their exit. American politicians know exactly what they are doing.