The dam breaks in Afghanistan


The horrific bombing in Kabul on Thursday was a stark reminder of why the United States has remained at war in Afghanistan for 20 years.
When terrorists murder civilians or American troops, there must be justice, punishment, and deterrence. But after a particularly heinous attack, it is difficult to ever feel safe enough to leave, and the mission can quickly grow beyond what is militarily achievable.
Precisely because the nation-building failed so spectacularly, there was always the risk of ugly scenes after withdrawal. Our forces in Afghanistan were like Hans Brinker, the little boy who tried to save his country by putting his finger in the leaking dike. No president wants to be in office when the dam bursts.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Biden appears willing to risk drowning to end the facade. Officials under him understandably find it hard to take criticism from predecessors who allowed this war to morph from the pursuit of the 9/11 murderers into a futile attempt to remake Afghanistan and then lied for years about how well that project was going. Biden is trying to complete the incremental shift away from this policy begun under both Barack Obama, the Democratic president he served as vice president, and Donald Trump, the Republican president he unseated.
Execution, optics, and politics all matter, nevertheless. The administration wants credit for a mostly successful airlift that has so far proceeded mostly without casualties. But the fact that both qualifications are now necessary — some people will not be evacuated, while others have now been injured or killed — forces them to argue the chaos was not their fault or that it could have been worse. Neither argument inspires confidence, which is a prerequisite for the patience the public will need to sustain a withdrawal from a forever war not just when it is easy and popular but also when it is difficult and controversial.
Biden did not prepare the country for the tragedies that would inevitably unfold as this sad chapter ended, perhaps because, despite his decades of public service, he was unprepared himself. We enter these wars to keep foreign nationals from killing Americans only to end up with Americans dying to keep foreign nationals from killing each other.
It's a cycle that should be broken, but when the dike springs a leak, there is always someone who comes along promising to build the wall.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
Who has to pay the estate tax?
the explainer Trump's new bill will permanently shift who owes federal estate tax
-
'Trucking is a dangerous business'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Is Trump's military parade 'just a parade'?
Talking Point Critics see an 'echo of authoritarianism'
-
Is Trump's LA troop deployment about order or authoritarianism?
Talking Points President: 'We're going to have troops everywhere.'
-
The Biden cover-up: a 'near-treasonous' conspiracy
Talking Point Using 'Trumpian' tactics, the former president's inner circle maintained a conspiracy of silence around his cognitive and physical decline
-
Democrats grapple with Biden cover-up fallout ahead of 2028
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Even before his cancer diagnosis, Dems have been grappling with whether the White House's alleged effort to hide Biden's failing health is worth relitigating
-
Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer
speed read The diagnosis hits close to home, as the former president 'dedicated much of his later career to cancer research'
-
Is Trump trying to take over Congress?
Talking Points Separation of powers at stake in Library of Congress fight