Kabul airport atrocity offers a glimpse of the chaos to come in Afghanistan

The tempting comparison between the withdrawals of US forces from Kabul in 2021 and Saigon in 1975 has offered diminishing returns over the past 12 days.

Whereas about 7,000 people were evacuated from Vietnam (5,500 Vietnamese civilians and about 1,500 Americans), more than 95,000 people have left Afghanistan in a historic airlift since 14 August, the day before the capital fell to the Taliban.

But nor did the departure from Saigon face suicide bombers. Thursday’s attack by Islamic State in Kabul, which killed at least 60 Afghan civilians and 13 American troops, disrupted the...