President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump agree on one thing.  It is time for America to close the book on our 20-year-war in Afghanistan.

That effort is underway despite warnings from Afghan officials and some American observers that the vacuum left by our departure will mean the return of the Taliban terrorists.  That, too, is happening.

Make no mistake about it.  Every American military man and woman who served, was injured or died in Afghanistan was a hero.  They were patriots who answered Washington’s call to combat terrorism in the Middle East following the 9/11 attack on America 20 years ago.

But our involvement in Afghanistan was a fool’s errand.  We were doomed to the same defeat that every invading force dating back centuries suffered when attempting to exert control over what has never been a stable country.

Yes, Afghanistan’s future appears bleak.  But much of that is due to the failure of its own military and political leadership to benefit correctly from America’s presence. 

That obvious truth was persuasive among America’s policy makers to cut our losses. 

We were never going to achieve our goal of fortifying a functioning, stable democracy in Afghanistan.  No one has before we took on the challenge.  And we were never going to do better.

The American withdrawal from Afghanistan is long overdue.