With regard to Afghanistan, I think the removal of US military presences there is primarily to give a narrative cover to the removal of media attention to the country while PMCs move in on behalf of Globohomo multinationals to secure the desired resources--mineral and otherwise--they want for their own operations, fair and foul alike. This necessarily will mean things usually called "war crimes" and "human rights violations" like wholesale slaughter of entire villages and trafficking of people to and from the country (along with opium, rare earth minerals, and more).

In short, far from being the end of Globohomo imperial ambition I have good reason to believe it's a shift in the regime running things, no different than what you see in Dune when Arrakis goes from Harkkonen to Atredies (and back again) because of how the elite want the resources--the Spice--to keep flowing without bothering them with the details.