On Aug. 30, U.S. troops left Afghanistan after 20 years. Here are some pieces to understand the withdrawal and the crisis that has unfolded.
Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat wrote that the Afghan National Army was “betrayed by politics and presidents.” nyti.ms/3kQd1vs
“When the last U.S. plane left Afghanistan, celebratory Taliban gunfire rang out through the night in Kabul,” said Rasheed, an Afghan who worked on U.S.-government-funded projects. “The sound told me that all hope was lost.” nyti.ms/3kIAajs
“We don’t yet know how the Taliban intend to govern the nation as a whole,” wrote Ashley Jackson, who has spent much of her career in Afghanistan. “Already their administration is rudimentary and stretched thin.” nyti.ms/3BFWK3b
“We have betrayed our promises to interpreters, women and children, and others who are now trapped in an Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban,” said Ryan Crocker, a former ambassador. “I fear many will lose their lives because of Mr. Biden’s impatience.” nyti.ms/3BCQxEW
“We must listen to the voices of Afghan women and girls,” said @Malala, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt. “They are asking for protection, for education, for the freedom and the future they were promised. We cannot continue to fail them.” nyti.ms/3gSFcsw
Americans “like to think that wars end when they are declared to end. But the aftereffects of war continue for years,” wrote @viet_t_nguyen. nyti.ms/2WIvdig
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"I am fortunate to have family and coaches who let me lean on them. For me, open and positive communication is essential," writes Venus Williams. nyti.ms/3liF0nK
"But it is incredibly frustrating to me that only an estimated half of the those who have mental illness get the treatment they need. As we confront the devastating impact of the pandemic, support for our mental health is more urgent than ever." nyti.ms/3liF0nK
“America launched a bad-faith global crusade to instill democracy in the Muslim world and ended up with our own democracy in tatters,” writes @michelleinbklyn. “We thought we knew what had been lost on Sept. 11. We had no idea.” nyti.ms/3E4nWe1
"Time can attempt to heal all wounds, but 20 years later the tears still come unexpectedly and the smell of jet fuel lingers. Please do not forget what happened to America on that day and the people who were lost forever." #NYTLettersnyti.ms/3hoQ1CO
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President Biden is right to order tighter vaccine rules, which he did for roughly two-thirds of the nation’s work force on Thursday. “We’ve been patient,” Mr. Biden said to holdouts. “But our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us.” nyti.ms/2VxYKep
Vaccines have proved to be both incredibly safe and stunningly effective. Nearly two-thirds of eligible Americans have accepted these facts and done their part by getting fully vaccinated. nyti.ms/2VxYKep
Right now, the list of the very sick and the dead is made up almost entirely of the unvaccinated. nyti.ms/2VxYKep
“To keep the lights on, the School District of Philadelphia — like thousands of districts across the country — has increasingly turned to debt financing. They issue bonds to borrow money from financial markets,” writes @EleniSchirmer. nyti.ms/3kwWxbA
“What starts as public schools’ budget shortfall ends with financial sector profits.” nyti.ms/3ylSCD9
“Debt-financing public education has not only failed to provide schools with sufficient funds; it has also imposed long-term costs.” nyti.ms/3ylSCD9
The pandemic has caused the worst disruption of public schooling in modern history. nyti.ms/3khQxmK
"From the start, elected officials seemed more concerned about reopening bars and restaurants than safely reopening schools that hold the futures of more than 50 million children in their hands," writes the editorial board. nyti.ms/3khQxmK
"Governors and other elected officials are trying to whistle past the devastating learning setbacks that schoolchildren incurred during the shutdown." nyti.ms/3khQxmK
"In the last two decades, millions of Afghan women and girls received an education," @Malala, the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate, writes in a guest essay. "Now the future they were promised is dangerously close to slipping away." nyti.ms/385nXj7
"The Taliban — who until losing power 20 years ago barred nearly all girls and women from attending school and doled out harsh punishment to those who defied them — are back in control," writes @Malala. nyti.ms/385nXj7
"Some members of the Taliban say they will not deny women and girls education or the right to work. But given the Taliban’s history of violently suppressing women’s rights, Afghan women’s fears are real," @Malala writes. nyti.ms/385nXj7