The fall of Afghanistan is terrible to watch. That's no reason for the U.S. to stay.
![Afghan troops.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QSBQ8aP5nDEyBvFYz5RL3d-415-80.jpg)
Even if you believe America's exit from Afghanistan is necessary, it's difficult to have good feelings about the end of our longest war. Shame seems more appropriate.
U.S. troops completed their evacuation from Bagram Air Base this week — not with a formal change-of-command ceremony, but by slipping away under cover of night, and without bothering to tell the base's new Afghan commander. "We (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram," said Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, "and finally by seven o'clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram." President Biden may be eager to reassert American leadership on the world stage, but it's difficult to think that either our allies or enemies will look at what happened at Bagram and be much impressed.
The situation is only going to get worse. The Taliban is racking up a series of battlefield victories, some Afghan troops are fleeing into neighboring Tajikistan, and the American-backed government seems certain to collapse without the protection of U.S. forces. Taliban rule will once again be a moral disaster for Afghanistan — particularly for the country's women and girls.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
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.
All of this might seem like an argument for the U.S. to remain in Afghanistan. It is not. Instead — as many observers have pointed out — events are highlighting the long-evident futility of the American war: If we had built anything sustainable during the last 20 years, the Afghan government would probably be more ready to stand on its own two feet. Another 20 years would be unlikely to produce better results. So it is time to leave.
U.S. efforts — like those of the British Empire and Soviet Union before it — were probably always doomed. "The very presence of Americans in Afghanistan trod on a sense of Afghan identity that incorporated national pride, a long history of fighting outsiders and a religious commitment to defend the homeland," Carter Malkasian, a former civilian advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote Tuesday in Politico. Understanding that won't make it easier to watch what happens next, and America won't be able to escape its moral culpability. Leaving Afghanistan is probably correct. But it is also terrible.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Red Speedo: a 'darkly comic' doping drama
The Week Recommends Lucas Hnath's play stars Finn Cole as a 'reptilian' swimmer determined to win at all costs
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
One Aldwych: where London's creative spirit takes centre stage
The Week Recommends This five-star Covent Garden hotel is the epitome of elegant independence
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark side
In the Spotlight Olympic gold medallist and dressage star's suspension over horse whipping brings abuse in horse sports back into the spotlight
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Democrats 'resigned to a second Trump presidency'
Talking Points Did the assassination attempt end Biden's election chances?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Are down-ticket Democrats doomed?
Talking Points President Joe Biden's refusal to step back from his reelection campaign has some local Democrats wondering if their own races are in trouble — but not everyone is worried
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Project 2025 is creating headaches for the Trump campaign
Talking Points Democrats want to make Trump 'own' the controversial plan
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Biden flopped, but did Trump really 'win' the debate?
Talking Points The president struggled to articulate a clear vision for the country, but Trump's cavalcade of aggressive falsehoods might not do the Republican candidate any favors in the long run
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Why the Hunter Biden verdict isn't the slam dunk Republicans have been calling for
Talking Points After years of targeting the President's family amidst claims of a rigged justice system, some conservatives still aren't satisfied with the younger Biden's three felony convictions.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published