Afghan government forces in the United States collapsed faster than the US military leader thought when President Joe Biden ordered a total withdrawal a few months ago. But the White House, the Pentagon, or the American public have little interest in trying to avoid defeat, and it may be too late to do so.
Mr Biden made it clear that he had no intention of changing the decision made last spring, even if the outcome appeared to point to the Taliban takeover. Now that most of the US military is leaving and the Taliban accelerating their advances on the battlefield, US military leaders did not urge him to change his mind. They know that the only important option is for the president to restart the war that he has decided to end.
Pentagon chief spokesman John Kirby said Afghans still have time to avoid eventual defeat.
"No potential outcome is inevitable, including the fall of Kabul," Kirby told reporters. "It doesn't have to be that. It really depends on what kind of political and military leadership Afghans can muster to turn this situation around."
Mr Biden made a similar point a day ago when he told reporters that the US military was in the past. Do everything you can to help Afghans in 20 years. "They must fight for themselves, fight for their country," he said.
The United States continues to support the Afghan military with limited airstrikes, but so far these have not made a strategic difference, and it is set to end when the United States officially ends its role in the war on August 31. Biden may continue to carry out airstrikes beyond that date, but given his strong position to end the war, this seems unlikely. Senior US military officials warned Biden that a complete US withdrawal could lead to the Taliban taking power, but the president's decision in April to continue the war was a waste.