On April 14, President Joe Biden announced that all U.S. forces would be withdrawn from Afghanistan before Sept. 11 of this year. The White House titled the speech “The Way Forward in Afghanistan,” but that was misleading. In reality, Biden simply explained his reasons for choosing a way out, not forward. The war U.S. forces will soon leave behind is not over, or even close. The Taliban and their al Qaeda allies are well-positioned to take more ground from the Afghan government without us thwarting their aims. If successful, their victory could restore the Taliban’s Islamic emirate to power.

That, however, is no longer Washington’s concern.