The Relics of America’s War in Afghanistan

Just a mile from Bagram Air Base, where U.S. forces departed on Thursday, shops sell items left over from two decades of fighting. Each one tells a story.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — For almost 20 years, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan was the anchor for America’s war, its sprawling twin runways serving to launch bombing raids, journeys home, medical evacuations, mail runs and U.S.O. shows. But despite years of preparation for this moment, the Americans’ departure from Bagram this past week was marked by little fanfare, seemingly as disjointed as the Afghan government’s plan for what happens next. For weeks, the Taliban have been carrying out attacks across the country, killing members of the Afghan security forces and forcing hundreds of others to surrender. Throughout the country, warlords — power brokers from the civil-war era of the 1990s and newly minted militia commanders — are calling on Afghan civilians to join their makeshift armies in defending the country.