The American effort to remake Afghanistan as a viable democratic state has ended in failure. It’s tragic for those in this war-torn country who long for peace and stability. For the US, the tragedy involves a certain amount of humiliation.

However, much of the coverage of the sloppy withdrawal seems hysterical. Far from representing an avoidable debacle that means US security guarantees can’t be taken seriously, this is a tragic end to a long blunder that has cost America dearly in blood and treasure.