‘No Victory Dance’: Veterans of Afghan War Feel Torn Over Pullout

President Biden’s decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 is met with relief and anguish, frustration and regret among those who served there.

Was it worth it? After two decades of midnight watches and gut-twisting patrols down bomb-riddled roads, after all the deaths and bloodshed and lost years, that was the one inescapable question on Wednesday among many of the 800,000 Americans who have served in Afghanistan since 2001. “There’s no easy answer, no victory dance, no ‘we were right and they were wrong,’” said Jason Dempsey, 49, who deployed twice to Afghanistan as an Army officer to train the Afghan forces who are now fighting a losing battle against the Taliban. For military leaders, Mr. Dempsey said, “the end of the war should only bring a collective feeling of guilt and introspection.”