I agree with your assessment regarding Afghanistan's future, however the future of Afghanistan - even through the lens of GWOT - does not compare with the worldwide limbo seen during 1940s.....
I could see making the argument that the rise in militant-Islam as seen since 1979 in Iran and now manifesting itself elsewhere in governments like the Taliban (Libya and Egypt are also recent examples) may be viewed in much the same light as the Japanese invasion of China (and points south) in 1937. (These events caused the U.S. to embargo oil and scrap iron which lead to the Japanese escalation of the war by attacking Pearl Harbor.) There was not a direct threat to the United States by Japan invading China, but it may be viewed as the expansionist policies of a government that is not friendly to U.S. strategic interests.
So, while Afghanistan may not be a direct threat to the United States today, if you view it as the West's fight against radical-Islam, then you can take a view point similar to a Containment Strategy used by the United States following WW2. Neither Korea or Viet Nam were direct threats to the United States, but do we really want a government (or an ideology in the case of Afghanistan) to expand it's power-base?
If Afghanistan falls, then what? (If I knew the answer, I would be making big bucks at a think-tank and writing books, rather than posting here) If radical-Islam is allowed to grow, then it may bring a "world wide limbo" reminiscent of the late 1930's and 40's.
I realize this has nothing to do with awards, sorry for the threadjack!