For many Afghan war vets here in the US, it's a violation of a promise at the core of the military ethos: you don't leave a brother or sister in arms behind. "There's a tremendous amount of guilt that goes with it," says Jason Kander, a former Missouri Secretary of State and Army Captain who served in Afghanistan. "I'm coaching a little league game tonight, and I think about the people who I worked with in the Afghan government and the Afghan military who are probably staying in their houses." "The Taliban is putting on a good show for the rest of the world because they want us to be talking about a kinder, gentler Taliban," says Kander. "As soon as the cameras are gone, they are going to be the Taliban ... as brutal and horrific and evil as they have always been."

Source: CNN August 18, 2021 12:33 UTC