Criticism of Biden’s execution of the American withdrawal is well deserved, but conservatives should also be best situated to understand why the Afghanistan project was bound to fail and its easily toppled government was built on sand. The ill-fated regime in Kabul was as dependent as any welfare recipient, living off foreign money, arms and supplies while the U.S. and its allies performed their core function of providing basic security for them. Dependents suddenly made to stand on their own fail frequently, as any astute reader of Thomas Sowell or Charles Murray could predict.

Then there is the fact that bureaucrats, who make up as much of the Pentagon as the DMV, will always in the face of failure plead for more taxpayer money and time. These officials knew they were failing for quite some time and lied to the public about it.

Finally, culture matters. A stable, centralized government in Afghanistan was always going to be a heavy lift if imposed in a manner consistent with our values. And many people in Afghanistan do not share our values, especially on women’s rights. A military occupation intended to change might not have succeeded in 100 years, much less 20.