silly stuff?
We had months; years if we wanted.
Good Lord, did you think a terrorist group was just going to sit there and wait for it like an idiot?
The Iraqi army and infrastructure had no place else to go during the war buildup, although sure as hell Saddam still moved a lot of stuff, including contraband, money, and people, out of the country.
A terrorist group can pick up and be gone in hours. You get them with commando techniques, or you don't get them at all. By the time we got in there with the traditional lines of troops and tanks, we'd be attacking empty facilities.
You can look up a timeline of the Afghanistan war yourself. I don't want to take the time.