As the Taliban overtook Afghanistan, many American military veterans were left wondering if it was all worth it.
Some were ready for the war to be over. Others wanted the U.S. to stay. But most agree this was not the ending they wanted. on.wsj.com/3yXuGY0
Retired Army Sergeant First Class Sean Lee wasn’t necessarily surprised to see the Taliban sweep across Afghanistan during the past week. Instead, he was surprised at his own subdued reaction. on.wsj.com/3CRCmgG
Kevin Brewington, a former Army paratrooper, has been happy to see the U.S. pull out, tired of seeing troops get injured in a war that accomplished what he thought of as the big goal of finding Osama bin Laden on.wsj.com/3g7P5lA
Geoffrey Quevedo, who was a private in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, was sitting at a bar recently with a wounded warrior-support organization when news of the drawdown and Taliban resurgence came on the TV. He asked to change the channel. on.wsj.com/3m5y7Ir
When researchers inside Instagram began studying young users’ experiences on the photo-sharing app, they found that nearly a third of teenage girls said the platform made negative feelings they had about their bodies worse, internal documents show on.wsj.com/3Cb9QFU
“Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” a slide from an internal Facebook presentation said. Among teens who reported suicidal thoughts, 13% of U.K. users and 6% of U.S. users traced those feelings to Instagram. on.wsj.com/3lr3o6D
The research offers the deepest look yet at what Facebook, which owns Instagram, knows about the app’s impact on teens and their mental health. Researchers concluded that some of the problems were specific to Instagram, and not social media more broadly. on.wsj.com/3hvQ5RA
Mark Zuckerberg has publicly said that Facebook allows its more than three billion users to speak on equal footing with the elites of politics, culture and journalism, and that its standards of behavior apply to everyone, no matter their status or fame on.wsj.com/3Aa7XZg
In private, Facebook built a system that has exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules, according to an extensive array of internal company documents reviewed by the Journal on.wsj.com/2Xp1cEK
Some VIPs are rendered immune from all enforcement actions. Others are allowed to publish rule-violating material—including posts containing harassment or incitement to violence—pending employee reviews that often never come, the documents show. on.wsj.com/3C9bkQK
Nearly 3,000 children lost parents in the Sept. 11 attacks. Now young adults or in their 30s, some talk of the pain of missing fathers they never met, and the burden of constantly being seen as victims. on.wsj.com/3A6YhPi
Being labeled a child of 9/11 was uncomfortable for Leah Quigley, who was born a month after her father’s death. Like others who never met their dads—about 86% of the lost parents were fathers—she knows hers mostly from photos and stories told by others. on.wsj.com/38U9Kpq
Nicholas Gorki, whose mother was pregnant with him when his father died in the attacks, was a worrier growing up. He imagines how life would be different had his parents moved out of New York, which they had considered before the towers fell. on.wsj.com/3DZU6aj
Breaking: An explosion hit a crowd of Afghans trying to enter the Kabul airport, with no immediate word on casualties on.wsj.com/2Wk3wg5
At least three U.S. troops were injured in an explosion at the Kabul airport, a U.S. official said. The blast came after several of America’s allies said they were halting evacuation flights. on.wsj.com/3jpy5cZ
A second explosion took place outside Kabul airport. Witnesses reported multiple fatalities. on.wsj.com/2UQ424t
The footage of Afghans falling to their deaths from a U.S. army plane departing Kabul became a defining image of America’s chaotic exit. This is the story of one young victim, reconstructed from interviews with friends, family and bystanders. on.wsj.com/3mv4AZ1
As hundreds of Afghans swarmed the airport runway, attempting to climb onto the taxiing 140-ton plane, 17-year-old Zaki Anwari powered through the scrum and clambered onto the landing gear. He held tight as it accelerated past 120 miles per hour. on.wsj.com/3kmktyb
Anwari, a player on Afghanistan’s national youth soccer team, had phoned his brother to tell him that if he didn’t flee, he would never play again.
“Do not go, go back, you are smart, don’t go,” his brother implored.
The Taliban have wasted little time in collecting weapons from Afghanistan’s military, raising concerns about how easily troves of U.S.-made arms, military aircraft and armored vehicles have fallen into enemy hands and the new capabilities they bring on.wsj.com/3sALbGU
Scores of videos have emerged of Taliban fighters rejoicing near abandoned American helicopters, carrying U.S.-supplied sniper rifles and assault weapons, and driving Humvees and other U.S.-made military trucks on.wsj.com/2WfhTC1
The Taliban have seized airplanes, tanks and artillery from Afghan outposts and from evacuating U.S. personnel. The U.S. sent nearly 600,000 small arms, 76,000 vehicles and 208 airplanes to Afghanistan’s military and police from 2003 to 2016. on.wsj.com/3AY7ae5