A few years into the Afghan war, I had the chance to visit the country at the invitation of the NATO mission there. After a couple of days in Kabul, a small group of us—journalists, think tankers, ex-administration types—were flown out to Herat in the west of the country, close to the Iranian border. There we spent a day observing the work of Italian soldiers in keeping the peace and helping rebuild. We were due to fly back to Kabul that afternoon, but as we waited at the Herat airfield, it became clear that something was...

Source: Wall Street Journal June 07, 2019 18:10 UTC