That's Enough Now. There's Little More That Could Be Expected.

Note to the New York Times: That's enough now.

Second-guessing is the art of the major media: We love it when it conforms and hate it when it doesn't. But it's still easy to do.

A firestorm of it has emerged, of course, while the tragedy of Afghanistan is finally played out. Lots of woulda-coulda-shoulda has echoed. Let's discuss some of them, and why they're conjured nonsense:

• The Taliban is raging: Of course they are. They've taken over. They'll full of themselves and should be. They've just defeated what was supposed to be the greatest military force of the greatest country in the world. Wouldn't you be a little cocky?
• They're starting to beat people up. Of course they are. Retribution is War Part Two. We were more polite with the Nazis and Japanese. We held war crimes trials before executing them. The Taliban aren't likely go to that trouble, and if they do, it'll be with their rules and their laws. They aren't like ours. But they won.
• They're not going to let Biden extend the deadline: Of course they won't. He gave them a date. They will now cling to it and make themselves believe that if we stay longer, it could be unfathomably long. It won't be, but remember: This is still war. We want to end it. It's still all on us.
• The international community is wringing its hands. But they won't lift a finger to help, at least not in Kabul. Tony Blair calls Biden "imbecilic" in his withdrawal, but remember, he backed Bush-43 in Iraq and sent folks to support that horrible mistake. So his views aren't exactly gold-plated.
• People are stuck. This could be a complete disaster. It will be for a few. But we've already cleared out 58,000 people. And there are Americans who, incredibly, want to stay. Considering the chaos, not bad with several days left and planes leaving by the hour.
• Suicide bombings have taken place. Of course they have. ISIS wants to get in on the carnage. This is literally the last chance the Muslim crazies have to be sent to Allah and their heavenly reward. I mean, a guy has to be pretty down on himself to think that he can't be saved any other way.

Again, take American exceptionalism and please put it in the nearest trashcan. Just because we say we want something doesn't mean everyone will stand aside and allow us to get it. We want the Taliban to play nice. That isn't how they got control, though. This could still get very, very messy.

The facade of American power is, basically, American air power. Of that, the Taliban has none. That will be our ultimate shield. If they shoot at us, they should be expected to be strafed and bombed.

But that's about it. We refused to sent enough troops to make a definitive difference. We said we had a goal in mind and we accomplished that goal. We took on human rights, especially for women, but found that insufficient to remain. Tells you something right there.

In the end, if most of the Afghans would rather have life itself than life without the Taliban, they have made that deal with themselves. Remember our Natives: Many of them made that same choice when confronted with vasty superior firepower. But remember, also, what lay in store for them: Deculturalization, the humiliation of living on poorly furnished and badly located reservations, and the concomitant alcoholism and poverty. Those issues linger still.

The Afghans, set upon already by religious fanatics, may be subjected to that same fate. And by the way: Vietnam is still communist and repressive. We recognized that government some twenty-plus years after we left, with the blood of 58,000 of our people in its soil.

This isn't a one-off anymore. It's time to recalibrate and figure out anew where we are in the world. But this time we have to call it straight. We have to make better judgments.

What we have said about that, though, is what we'll eventually say about this: Nice try.

Be well. Be careful. Wear a mask indoors. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.

Mister Mark