Not sure it's a case of neocons. You just can't do that to a superpower and not expect an overwhelming response. I remember just after 9/11 I flew over to the US, and the mood was febrile. I don't even think Bush had much of a choice really. Would be the same if the Afghans did the same to China or Russia. I broadly agree with the bolded too, but at that point it was about revenge. Nothing and nobody was stopping it.
And you're also right nobody gave a shit beforehand. It was only in August? 2001 that they even authorised a covert program against the taliban.
Months before, after he warned of the 9/11 attacks, a smart play would have been to let/facilitate Massoud win, and crush the Pakistani side of the Taliban whilst he did. He had a ready made alliance ready which broadly supported the cause. But people didn't even take meetings with him. Mossad were barred from helping, Jerusalem didn't even answer his calls. Pakistan wanted his head on a plate, and the US preferred to fund through Pakistan only. Only India did anything anything at all of note (and that's only because the Taliban were almost a branch of the ISI around that time.) The US possibly leaked his location to Al Quaeda through the ISI. 2 days before 9/11. 2 Fecking days. No invasion. Interference certainly, but no invasion.
And yea, once you're there, I'm probably more of a maximalist than anything else. I believe you should clean up your own shit.
