ViewpointsOpinionAfghanistan: The Mistake Wasn’t Going In, It Was How We LeftSavePrintA U.S. Air Force aircraft takes off from the airport in Kabul on Aug. 30, 2021. Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty ImagesRoger Kimball9/5/2021|Updated: 9/7/2021CommentaryMy first encounter with Afghanistan was many years ago, through Eric Newby’s “A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush.”Share this articleLeave a commentRoger KimballAuthorRoger Kimball is the editor and publisher of The New Criterion and publisher of Encounter Books. His most recent book is “Where Next? Western Civilization at the Crossroads.”Author’s Selected ArticlesStillbirth of a Meme, With a Brief Cadenza on ‘Lawfare’Jun 03, 2024Annals of the Art World: Everything Old Is New AgainMay 30, 2024Is Utilitarianism Useful?May 20, 2024A Healing Zephyr of a BookMay 15, 2024Related TopicsAfghanistan