Yessss Fred....
As you so eloquently put it, the wind vector applied to the TAS vector results in the GS vector. And this wind vector is itself comprised of 2 vectors relative to the aircraft - a crosswind vector and a head/tail wind vector , ie tailwind component.
So my point is Fred, that of course wind has direction as well speed. But this discussion is not about drift. It is about tailwind.
So the component of the wind vector that effects the speed over the ground is head/ tailwind vector ie the diff between the TAS and GS is head or tail wind component. The crosswind component results in drift - something else.