Saddam held the Talibans at bay. The US took Saddam down. But now the US can't take the Talibans down.
Syllogism doesn't always work in real life, does it?
I would have thought this to be the case:
If Saddam could take the Talibans down, and
The US could take Saddam down, then
It follows logically that the US could take the Talibans down.
That's the syllogism I'm referring to.
But the Talibans have proved the syllogism false.