Note the distinction between competence of terrorist attacks (especially attacks against targets in the US/Europe) and basic government functions. The fact that

Note the distinction between competence of terrorist attacks (especially attacks against targets in the US/Europe) and basic government functions. The fact that the Taliban can't run a suicide bombing operation in NYC to save its life matters a lot less than the fact that lots of people in some parts of Afghanistan prefer taking their disputes to the shadow court system run by the Taliban. The skills you need to be a good jurist have little to do with the skills you need to be a good tactician, and may very well be more significant. Americans focus on terrorism because everything is always always always about us, no matter what, but the Taliban can and does do many things besides terrorist attacks against western targets. Incompetence in one area does not mean that the institution is incompetent in all areas.