The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act has made headlines mostly in connection to President Trump’s insistence that he will veto the annual military funding resolution if it does not change the regulation of social media sites and preclude renaming of military bases honoring leaders of the Confederacy. But the bill deserves public attention for reasons other than these lame-duck nonsequiturs, which may well be overridden by a veto-proof congressional majority: The 2021 NDAA would make it more difficult to end the 19-year war in Afghanistan.

As written, the bill implements two roadblocks to withdrawal from Afghanistan, where U.S. intervention has long since devolved into a grinding stalemate with nothing resembling victory to be had. It permits Congress to withhold funds for withdrawal until the Pentagon and other executive branch agencies report to Congress. This reporting requirement is triggered before U.S. troop levels are reduced below 4,000 (or whatever number is deployed when the NDAA is passed) and again before a reduction below 2,000.