In the opening panel of the Blog, click on the title of the Post you want in the list on the right side. That will bring up the text of the Post, with some icons underneath, with titles of related Posts. Click on any of them to bring up that text.

Let me suggest that you click on some of the icons that appear under the text. Perhaps you might learn a thing or two.

While Osama bin Laden obviously was the primary target, any part of Al-Qaeda was of course automatically included. However, George W. Bush soon lost interest, leaving it to President Obama to track down and destroy bin Laden.

I’m searching for an embarrassing answer, but the answer to “Why did we help the Taliban” is easily found in history books.
To summarize, the Cold War was underway, and Afghanistan is a gateway to US ally Pakistan, and Pakistan is gateway to India, being courted by the Soviets at that time. Your reference to religion evades me.

And since you asked, that was the same Cold War that led US politicians, most notably LBJ, into the disastrous Vietnam debacle.

Your interpretation of why the US attacked Afghanistan after 9/11 is not correct.
The fact is that Afghanistan was the base of Al-Qaeda operations and planning.
Bush and our allies could not leave them undisturbed to freely continue to mount additional Al-Qaeda terror attacks on the West, especially in view of the World Center attack in 1993, East African embassies in 1998, and USS Cole in 2000.

In 2011 US Navy Seals killed Bin Laden, over the objection of VP Joe Biden.
Why did President Obama not then order an orderly retreat form Afghanistan immediately following that?

Oh, that reminds me of your question with an embarrassing answer.
That question is; “Why didn’t Biden order an orderly retreat?”,.