Overall, I think governments of democracies failed a great deal of the time in trying to respond to this crisis. I think leaders in civil society picked up a lot that governments dropped and were not able to do at all or perhaps do well.
My short answer is that I wouldn't necessarily use the term “laggard”, but I would say, “unable in many cases to respond adequately to the crisis”. Again, I refer to the excellent report from the Special Committee on Afghanistan. Many of these issues are very well identified—and the changes that are needed.