Six planeloads of Americans and friendly Afghans wait on airstrip for Taliban permission, while Taliban make demands. Pallets of cash, like Obama gave Iran? Recognition of a Taliban government? Both? Who knows? But what can we do?

• Biden State Dept Says It Has No Resources To Rescue Trapped Flights In Afghanistan, No Reliable Means To Confirm Details: Report.

Gulliver tied down by the Lilliputians seems powerful next to Biden’s America, held back by its own imbecilic plans and unrealistic ideas. A war run by State Department pencil-pushers and academic theorists? Now there’s a recipe for unmitigated disaster. Who could have dreamed up a lash-up like that? An idiot or an enemy? Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. But in the end, there is no difference.

Captain Smith wasn’t trying to sink the Titanic by steaming full speed on a moonless night despite iceberg warnings. But the ship sank in exactly the same time as if he did intend to sink it. His good intentions were no help to the 1500 who drowned in dark, icy waters. The good intentions of the Biden State Department and Pentagon are of no help to the stranded Americans, and surely were no help to the 13 dead ones.