Dishonor is its own disgrace, but it has practical effects as well. The consequences of dishonorable behavior can be seen in the commentary among America’s allies, and even more so in unofficial conversations with them. They often remark that if Afghanistan is an indication, the Biden administration’s view of the world—cold, transactional, self-centered if not indeed selfish—is simply that of its predecessor, presented with a tight smile rather than a petulant pout, but with equal amounts of smug belligerence. It’s all about deals, and that means that when the time comes, other allies’ fates too are negotiable.

Churchill was keenly aware of the limits of honor as a guide to action. But as he observed in his remarkably sympathetic eulogy of Neville Chamberlain, the man he had so bitterly opposed over the Munich agreement, we do not know the consequences of the actions of statesmen: “It is not given to human beings, happily for them, for otherwise life would be intolerable, to foresee or to predict to any large extent the unfolding course of events.” Which is why, he concluded, honor and prudence must walk hand in hand. If only that had been the case during the dishonorable summer of 2021.