The End of America’s 20-Year War

<p>After a 20-year war, the United States has effectively ended its operations in Afghanistan with little fanfare.</p><p>In recent weeks, the Americans have quietly vacated their sprawling military bases in the nation, and without giving Afghan security forces prior notice.</p><p>What does this withdrawal look like on the ground?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/thomas-gibbons-neff?smid=pc-thedaily">Thomas Gibbons-Neff</a>, a correspondent in the Kabul bureau for The New York Times. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>The Americans have handed over Bagram Air Base — once the military’s nerve center — to the Afghans,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/world/asia/afghanistan-bagram-us-withdrawal.html"> effectively ending operations</a>.</li><li>Just a mile from the base, where U.S. forces departed on Thursday, shops sell items left over from two decades of fighting.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/03/world/asia/bagram-afghanistan.html"> Each one tells a story</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>