Successive US presidents have grappled with the task of ending America’s war in Afghanistan without a repeat of the humiliating scenes that marked its final capitulation in Vietnam. Unlike Saigon 1975, there will be no desperate helicopter flights from the embassy roof when the last US troops pull out on September 11.
The air of failure and the colossal waste of human life will linger, however. For most of Afghanistan’s 39 million people, the US withdrawal will only heighten dread of what will follow.
The Taliban have outlasted western firepower over two decades of bloody conflict. With President Biden confirming an unconditional withdrawal, the insurgents have now outlasted the US at the negotiating table too.
Since joining the US-brokered peace talks in Qatar last year,