The Pentagon begins a very American process of postwar accountability and rebuilding

When Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered that epitaph for the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday, you could see the weight of 20 years of battle on his face — the pursed lips, the clipped words, the bags under his eyes — but still, the commander insisted on telling the truth about America’s longest and perhaps most frustrating combat experience.