On the first anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks, I wrote a column about a BBC radio program on which I had been a guest along with "activist" Bianca Jagger, and Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite. Neither evinced sympathy for what Americans had suffered at the hands of al Qaeda and its enabler, the Taliban. On the contrary, Ms. Jagger accused the Bush administration of killing "thousands" of innocent Afghans and failing to pay "reparations."

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"The answer is no." That was the response, on August 24, of Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen to a Sky News reporter who asked if the United States might be permitted more time to evacuate American civilians and their allies from Afghanistan.

Defense Department press secretary John Kirby responded: "I think we all understand that view." Let's be clear: Dr. Shaheen (as Sky News respectfully refers to him) was not expressing a view. He was issuing an edict. To the United States of America.

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You don't need to be a brilliant geopolitical strategist to understand that the United States should be the best friend – and the worst enemy – any nation could have. Following the events of recent days, the U.S. will be perceived differently: "harmless as an enemy but treacherous as a friend."

Many politicians and diplomats share blame for this outcome, as do those deep thinkers who fancy themselves proponents of "responsible statecraft," based on the dangerous fiction that "forever wars" end once Americans stop fighting them.

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A few weeks ago, the night before he was to meet with President Biden, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani broke bread with a group of friendly diplomats, military officers, scholars, and journalists. The dinner was off-the-record so I can't tell you what Mr. Ghani or others said. With one exception.

I hadn't planned to speak. But there was a point I thought needed to be made. And no one else was making it.

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Dear Messrs. Cohen and Greenfield,

Or is it okay if I call you Ben and Jerry? (You can call me Cliff!) So, anyhow, I read your op-ed in The New York Times, headlined, "We're Ben and Jerry. Men of Ice Cream, Men of Principle," and I thought you might like – or at least tolerate – a little feedback.

First: You call yourselves supporters of Israel. I don't doubt it. But you should be aware that the BDS ("boycott, divest and sanction") movement with which you're now associated openly seeks Israel's extermination.

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