American forces are in a full-on rout in Afghanistan, basically leaving everything like it’s 1975 in Saigon, or the Mujahedeen entering Kabul to hang Najibullah by the balls, only on super-fast-forward, years being condensed into hours.

What the hell is going on? In normal circumstances I would expect Americans to give a warning to Taliban – wait until we’re out or we’ll napalm you to hell, because, after all, this is not Vietnam, and Americans didn’t actually lose the war, they just got tired of holding that shithole with no end in sight, and no reward, but I would expect them to send a brutal message in case anyone thought fucking with them is a possibility. This rout – and I have no other words to describe it – can only mean that Americans are in an extraordinary kind of hurry, the kind that doesn’t leave them time to organize an orderly and dignified withdrawal, and as much as I believe that America is in a terminal phase of decay, I didn’t expect them to show such an obvious sign of weakness and panic, regardless of what they see coming, where they need the military repositioned immediately, and what logistical lines they anticipate losing. It’s just a very bad message to send, and it shows a weird combination of despair, panic and outright incompetence.