> We shouldn't have been there, but this is a horrible outcome far worse than staying. You mean it's going to return to what it was before the US got involved.

> We shouldn't have been there, but this is a horrible outcome far worse than staying. You mean it's going to return to what it was before the US got involved. The US attempted to prop up the ~300,000 person Afghan national military. The majority of the people of Afghanistan clearly had no interest in defending anything or keeping anything. It folded instantly, with close to zero resistance, despite outnumbering the Taliban four to one, having control of the skies and superior weaponry. The US can't reasonably stay in Afghanistan forever to defend the 3% of the population that aligns ideologically with Western values. The next thing the US should do is to immediately proceed to close over half of its foreign military bases and start leaving other countries as well. > I find the "but they won't defend themselves" argument abhorrent and totally unsympathetic. They won't fight for Western values - which the US attempted to force on them - because they overwhelmingly don't agree with or believe in Western values. They don't have a fervor for those beliefs, whereas the Taliban do have a fervor for their beliefs. It is that simple, whether you find reality abhorrent or not. The best anyone can hope for is that as many as possible of the small minority of people in Afghanistan that do want those values, are able to flee the country.