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When U.S. President Joe Biden initially chose the 20th anniversay of 9/11 as the deadline for ending the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, he probably expected the date’s symbolism to resonate more triumphantly. But in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of Kabul and the chaotic evacuation that followed, the remembrances of the losses from that day, but also from the years of war since then, have instead been infused with a poignant sense of wasteful futility.
The Attacks of 9/11 and the Pernicious Mirage of Victory
In her column this week, Candace Rondeaux examined the costs and lessons learned of the U.S. war on terror that followed 9/11.