Biden is right to resist the Afghanistan backlash

Withdrawal was ugly, but it had to be done

Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

The war in Afghanistan is over, and the Taliban has won in a rout. Former President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country, and Taliban forces control Kabul and all the provincial capitals. It's over — far sooner than most predicted.

In response, there has been a terrible crush of Afghans trying to escape the country. Shocking videos show terrified people clinging to the side of American planes as they take off, some of them apparently later falling to their deaths.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.