Our military’s sacrifice in Afghanistan was not in vain

That mission was succeeding. When Biden took office, U.S. forces in Afghanistan were not nation-building, policing the country, or even fighting a war. They were training, equipping and enabling Afghan forces to fight our enemies for us. In January 2015, we transferred the combat mission to the Afghan security forces. U.S. troops were providing their Afghan allies with intelligence, mission planning and air cover — and with that support, the Taliban were unable to make significant military gains. As former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker told me, even with just 2,500 U.S. troops on the ground, the Taliban was unable to take back a single regional capital — until that last modicum of support was withdrawn. We had fewer troops in Afghanistan than we have stationed in Spain. But that small contingent of U.S. forces, together with some 7,000 NATO forces, was preventing the Taliban from overthrowing a flawed but pro-U.S. government, and turning the country into a terrorist sanctuary again.