What is the idiot-proof simplified explanation for how come the men in the nominal Afghan army didn't even try to stop this happening? Is it just that they were not at all motivated to do so? The US should have spent all their money and time training an army of women instead.
I don't know about simple, but there's a confluence of reasons/circumstances that have provided the Taliban with an adversary it could overcome.
Strong tribal/local identities and loyalties,
which are far more important than national or professional ones, corruption and theft of ammunition, food, fuel, weapons etc.. at a national, regional, province and district level, the use of the ANA as a way of syphoning money (local tribal leader is recruited into a senior role in local ANA, he then recruits 10 young lads, takes their salaries, 7 of them go home, 3 of them get paid and continue to serve - so the local ANA is 70% undermanned, and probably doesn't have any ammunition because it's been sold, or never arrived).
Huge culture of 'doing a deal' - the local tribal loyalties again, and very limited acceptance of Kabul, or any other non-local based government, having any great legitimacy.
On a tactical level, the ANA is an org used to fighting with air support - the ANA has helicopters and aircraft to do that, but they are maintained by US contractors, and as soon as Biden announced the departure they legged it as fast as their legs would carry them: they, after all, had a pretty shrewd idea of the ANA's capabilities as well as a good understanding of how quickly an ANA leader can also be a militia leader who does a deal with the Taliban to save his own skin and to preserve his clan/tribal position.
The US/NATO has been trying since about 2010 to improve the ANA's ability to function without support, but with very little success. Amusingly, RAF Cosford, the UK's Defence Aerospace Engineering School, has the unofficial, and unwanted, motto of 'Training Tomorrow's Taliban, Today'... because of its efforts in this area.
www.mirror.co.uk
