In the Atlantic Of All Places

By Anne Applebaum, whose history of the Gulag Archipelago I recommend even if she is anti-Trump.

She argues that liberal democracy (tolerance, religious and civil freedoms, a capitalist underlying economy) is worth defending and the Taliban are very nearly the perfect example of liberal democracy's antithesis: a system of fierce misogyny and brutality.  

Even if Afghanistan was impossible, there are nations sufficiently advanced that we need to stand together against its enemies: Europe and Taiwan listed explicitly.   

I fear Biden's incompetence makes this increasingly difficult as the untenable position into which Biden has placed our NATO allies raises questions as to whether being allied with us is either safe or useful.