But while we insisted on going in together, we insisted on getting out alone. This was ugly Americanism. President Barack Obama released Taliban leaders from prison so he and Secretary of State John Kerry could negotiate a peace agreement with them. They ran out of time, but their successors, Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo, eagerly carried on their work—though with even less competence.

Pompeo’s hand-picked negotiator, Zal Khalilzad, excluded the Afghan government, whose people had bled far more than any other partner in the war, from the peace talks. He also excluded the other dozens of states who joined us, including NATO members. Once a deal was reached, America’s attitude was not consulting with the partners about it but informing them—take it or take it—these are your choices. That the deal was shameful and amounted to a surrender made the Trump administration’s arrogance all the more grotesque. But it wasn’t a mere American surrender; it was a NATO defeat.

President Joe Biden had an opportunity to nix the deal (of which the Taliban were already in violation when he took office). But more than that, he had a responsibility to do so: He campaigned on the promise that enlightened statesmen would once again be at the helm. He spoke forcefully of the importance of alliances. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went on a charm offensive to apologize for the previous four years—as they should have.