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| Boilerpipe Text | Jul 10th 2021
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5 min read
“I
WANT TO
talk about happy things, man!” protested President Joe Biden in early July, when reporters asked him about the imminent withdrawal of the last American forces from Afghanistan, expected some time in the next few weeks. No wonder he wants to change the subject: America has been fighting in Afghanistan for 20 years. It has spent more than $2trn on the war. It has lost thousands of its own troops and seen the death of tens of thousands of Afghans—soldiers and civilians alike. Now America is calling an end to the whole sorry adventure, with almost nothing to show for it.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Abandoning Afghanistan”
From the July 10th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
⇒
Explore the edition
How to end the war in Iran
America and Iran must resume their efforts to strike a deal, even though it is sure to be an imperfect one |
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[Leaders](https://www.economist.com/leaders) \| The longest war
# America’s war in Afghanistan is ending in crushing defeat
## The consequences of the conflict for Afghans, already catastrophic, are likely to get worse
Share

Jul 10th 2021
\|5 min read
“IWANT TO talk about happy things, man!” protested President Joe Biden in early July, when reporters asked him about the imminent withdrawal of the last American forces from Afghanistan, expected some time in the next few weeks. No wonder he wants to change the subject: America has been fighting in Afghanistan for 20 years. It has spent more than \$2trn on the war. It has lost thousands of its own troops and seen the death of tens of thousands of Afghans—soldiers and civilians alike. Now America is calling an end to the whole sorry adventure, with almost nothing to show for it.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Abandoning Afghanistan”

### From the July 10th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
[⇒Explore the edition](https://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/2021-07-10)
***
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| Readable Markdown | 
Jul 10th 2021\|5 min read
“IWANT TO talk about happy things, man!” protested President Joe Biden in early July, when reporters asked him about the imminent withdrawal of the last American forces from Afghanistan, expected some time in the next few weeks. No wonder he wants to change the subject: America has been fighting in Afghanistan for 20 years. It has spent more than \$2trn on the war. It has lost thousands of its own troops and seen the death of tens of thousands of Afghans—soldiers and civilians alike. Now America is calling an end to the whole sorry adventure, with almost nothing to show for it.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Abandoning Afghanistan”

### From the July 10th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
[⇒Explore the edition](https://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/2021-07-10)

### [How to end the war in Iran](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/04/15/how-to-end-the-war-in-iran)
America and Iran must resume their efforts to strike a deal, even though it is sure to be an imperfect one
***
*** |
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