“Never mind the fact that the Taliban had been gaining ground since it resumed its military campaign in 2004 … Never mind that the previous administration’s deal with the Taliban included the release of 5,000 fighters from prison and favored an even earlier departure date than the one that Biden embraced … Never mind that Trump had drawn down U.S. troop levels from about 13,000 to 2,500 during his last year in office and had failed to repatriate America’s equipment on the ground … Never mind the facts. Never mind the losses. Never mind the lessons.” (Or in the case of much of the media coverage, never mind the past 20 years.) David Rothkopf in The Atlantic: Biden Deserves Credit, Not Blame, for Afghanistan.

+ US investigates civilian deaths in Kabul strike.

+ Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul so quickly fearing execution by the Taliban that aides who returned from a lunch break wondered where he’d gone.