Biden’s lose-lose game in Afghanistan

For his part, Ghani played the stoic statesman, insisting he and his government “respect” Biden’s decision, did not feel abandoned and will “manage the consequences.” But he invoked a troubling metaphor, suggesting that Afghanistan was experiencing its own “1861 moment” — a nod to the start of the U.S. Civil War. “The then-young republic of the United States was under attack, and unity, determination, and ensuring that an exclusionary agenda was not allowed — [this] is the type of moment for us,” Ghani told reporters Friday. In remarks before his meeting with Biden, he said: “We’re determined to have unity, coherence, [a] national sense of sacrifice and will not spare anything.”