May 20, 2021, 3:00 p.m. ET
A mural in Kabul, Afghanistan, depicting Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, left, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation.Credit.Rahmat Gul/Associated Press
By Jeremy Scahill
Mr. Scahill is an investigative journalist who has extensively reported on the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.”
When Joe Biden assumed the presidency in January, he embarked on a mission to reverse a slew of policies put in place by former President Donald Trump while leaving untouched the elite foreign policy consensus. Mr. Biden issued 42 executive orders in his first 100 days more than than any other president since Franklin D. Roosevelt and has waged a methodical campaign against Mr. Trump’s agenda. With one major exception: Afghanistan.