Possibly a great idea that will probably never happen. It would be delicious to deprive the Taliban of their Grand Prize and have it remain as a thorn in their side – and show the world that the Taliban are not all that they’re cracked up to be. Or course, securing Kabul would be a permanent effort, an East Berlin in reverse. But then again, even that was not permanent. Kabul would be a city besieged.

This mess is unsalvageable at this point. America, the “indispensable nation” has been dispensed with. History will play out its inexorable game while the world looks on, hand wringing.