The pullout from Afghanistan could’ve been better.

Bottom line is: It’s not ending the military presence in Afghanistan that we’re opposed to. It’s how we withdrew. Not the fact that we withdrew, but how the entire withdrawal process took place. And certainly not the inevitable consequences of the withdrawal. The consequences of withdrawal are not something to celebrate, but it had to be done, with disregard to these consequences. It’s not our responsibility to take care of these matters through military intervention. The problem is that they can always give a good excuse for staying.

They will never have no reason to stay. The idea isn’t that we should only pull out when we’re no longer needed. The idea is that we shouldn’t be there in the first place, even if we’re needed.

The right move was pulling out of Afghanistan. The wrong move was how it happened.