Chaos at Kabul airport as thousands of Afghans try to flee Taliban

Desperate Afghans flooded Kabul’s airport, trying to escape the Taliban militants who seized control of the nation’s capital on Sunday. As western countries, including the United States, filled evacuation planes with their citizens, frightened Afghans tried to force their way on board. There were reports of people chasing planes down the runway and clinging to the sides of aircraft taking off. After foreign troops left, the Taliban rebels took over Afghanistan with stunning speed.

Class discussion: What do you think of the quick defeat of Afghanistan’s government by the Taliban? Was the United States and its allies right to pull soldiers out of Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting? Was our longest war worth it? Why or why not? Were we foolish to think we could create a western-style democracy in Afghanistan? Is there anyway we could have “won.” What should we have done differently? What can we do now?