The writer completed three tours of duty in Afghanistan as a British infantry officer in the Royal Gurkha Rifles
After the suicide bombing at Kabul airport that killed at least 13 US service members and more than 100 Afghan civilians, President Joe Biden stood by his rationale for withdrawing: “I have never been of the view that we should be sacrificing American lives to try to establish a democratic government in Afghanistan.”
Once the last US troops depart by Tuesday, the world’s attention will turn to other matters. Biden’s story may well harden into the first draft of history. He was right to withdraw, though he botched the execution, the story would go. But this is too simplistic.