Five years ago, the 20-year American war in Afghanistan came to an inglorious(不光彩的) end. In April 2021, the United States had begun its final withdrawal, with the goal of pulling out the 2,500 U.S. troops that remained in the country by September. Within weeks of the first U.S. departures, the Taliban had swept up scores of positions(迅速占领大量据点) as Afghan government forces melted away(溃散，消失). By early August, the group had taken control of most provincial capitals. Finally, on August 15, 2021, the U.S.-backed government in Kabul collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of terrified Afghans besieged the city’s airport. Roughly 120,000 were evacuated in planeloads(用飞机分批撤离) by the United States, its allies, and even groups of private citizens. In a heartbreaking final blow(令人心碎的最后一击), 13 American service members died in a suicide bombing at the airport four days before the last U.S. soldier departed on August 30. Two decades of heroic effort had ended in shame.(二十年的英勇努力以耻辱告终。)
五年前，美国在阿富汗长达20年的战争以不光彩的结局收场。2021年4月，美国开始最终撤军，目标是在9月前撤出仍留在该国的2500名美军。美军首批撤离后数周内，随着阿富汗政府军溃散，塔利班迅速攻占数十个据点。到8月初，该组织已控制大部分省会城市。最终，在2021年8月15日，美国支持的喀布尔政府垮台。数十万惊恐的阿富汗人涌向机场。美国、其盟友乃至私人团体通过飞机撤离了大约12万人。在最后一击的惨痛打击中，13名美军人员在机场自杀式爆炸中丧生，四天后最后一名美军于8月30日离开。二十年的英勇努力以耻辱告终。
Recriminations followed—some justified, some not. The same group that had harbored(庇护，窝藏) al-Qaeda while it planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks had triumphantly returned to power, and fears of a resurgent terrorist threat(卷土重来的恐怖主义威胁) mounted(增加，加剧). After all, the main reason that successive American presidents had decided to keep U.S. forces in the country for so long was the belief that without them, Afghanistan would once again become a safe haven for terrorists even if the Taliban did not manage to take full control.(毕竟，连续几任美国总统决定长期留驻军队的主要原因，是相信如果没有美军，阿富汗将再次成为恐怖分子的安全避难所，即使塔利班未能完全控制局势。)
随之而来的是相互指责——有些有理，有些无理。那个在策划和实施9·11袭击时庇护基地组织的同一组织，如今已凯旋般重掌权力，对恐怖主义威胁重新抬头的担忧加剧。毕竟，连续几任美国总统决定长期留驻军队的主要原因，是认为如果没有美军，阿富汗将再次成为恐怖分子的安全避难所，即使塔利班未能完全控制局势。
Nothing of the sort(根本没有这回事) occurred. Over the past five years, not a single act of terrorism against the United States was carried out by a group based in Afghanistan. Washington spent roughly $1 trillion(万亿) on the war. More than 120,000 Afghan civilians were killed or injured. More than 775,000 American service members were deployed(部署) to Afghanistan, more than 20,700 were injured, and more than 2,400 died—all to defend against a threat that turned out to have been exaggerated.(而这一切都是为了防御一个后来被证明是夸大其词的威胁。)
但这种情况并未发生。过去五年间，没有一起针对美国的恐怖袭击是由阿富汗境内的组织实施的。华盛顿在战争中花费了约1万亿美元。超过12万阿富汗平民死伤。超过77.5万名美军被部署到阿富汗，超过2.07万人受伤，2400多人死亡——而这一切都是为了防御一个后来被证明是夸大其词的威胁。
“YOU ARE WORTH PROTECTING”
“你们值得保护”
THE BAD GUYS WON
恶人赢了
LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION
失败不是选项
THE PERILS OF CONSENSUS
共识的陷阱
THE MINEFIELD AT HOME
国内雷区