YOur first para is on the ball, the second is a stupid strawman
Except possibly that there was a sizeable resistance to AQ/Taliban in Afghanistan.
There was no armed resistance to the regime in Iraq.
Granted, those Afghans are a bunch of bloodthirsty warlords intent on gaining power, but at least they're nominally on our side.
They were not on the Russian's side. Exhibit A in why it turned into Russia's Viet Nam and America triumph.
Now, given the troops, money and other resources that have gone into Iraq since 2003, would Afghanistan be in better shape than it is today?