The Taliban Celebrate Victory, With a Crisis Looming

With the final U.S. troops gone, triumphant scenes were clouded by the prospect of famine and financial collapse. The Taliban spokesman called for international engagement.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban celebrated a complete victory on Tuesday, achieving a goal they had nurtured through two decades: the exit of the last U.S. soldier from Afghanistan. The Taliban’s control had been essentially true for days, or even weeks, as whole cities fell to the insurgents one by one, and an American military that once flexed its muscles across the entire country was reduced to overseeing a hasty evacuation from the airport in Kabul. But on Tuesday, the airport, too, was in the hands of the Taliban. It offered an irresistible stage — and they made full use of it.