Requiem for the Biden of the Afghanistan Withdrawal (Director's Cut)

The brightest moment in the president’s foreign policy feels like light from a dead star. The Biden of that moment would stop aiding Israeli war crimes.

Edited by The Nation

One quick note I want to give on this one. This was written fairly early in February, which is why the examples and the numbers stop there. I'm adjusting to writing something that needs to be nonperishable a month out. I'll be the first to admit that's a process. Many times over the past month-plus when my hopes for a ceasefire being unexpectedly reached clashed with the interests of the construction of this particular column. Maybe I should have trusted in my analysis more, because, unfortunately for humanity, it's been grimly vindicated. May that change tomorrow.

Also, FOREVER WARS readers who may have wondered why over the past couple of weeks I haven't made more of a call to negotiate with Iran despite peppering a couple editions with that. Basically I wanted this piece to be the place where I called for that, and accordingly I didn't want to preempt it. And if there's anything I wish I could have addressed in the column during the extended time between edits and publication, it's the Qods Force's orders for stand-down in Iraq and Syria. Oh well! 

OK, the column: