4 Reasons A Taliban Takeover In Afghanistan Matters To The World

Helicopters evacuating Americans from Kabul as the Taliban closed in was a scene likened to the 1975 fall of Saigon in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam.

Afghanistan's U.S.-trained forces appeared to readily collapse in the face of a concerted push by Taliban forces. Names and places that became familiar to Americans during their country's long involvement there — including Kunduz and Kandahar — fell like dominoes in recent days as the Taliban swept toward the capital.

The Taliban have gained a reputation for brutality and enforcement of a harsh brand of...