Over the course of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, which began with America’s invasion 20 years ago Thursday, the U.S. invested billions of dollars in major infrastructure projects — schools and hospitals, water and energy facilities and thousands of miles of roads. The United States also helped stand up a democratic government and then spent more than $88 billion training Afghani military and security forces in the hopes that they could secure the nation and enforce the rule of law.

The plan didn’t work. Nor could it have.