The Fall of Kabul: The Catastrophic Afghanistan Withdrawal of 2021

Military Series, Book 5

By: Mary Baker

Narrated by: Charlie Brogan

On August 15, 2021, the world watched in horror as Kabul fell to the Taliban without a fight—erasing 20 years of blood, sweat, and sacrifice in a matter of hours. The sight of Taliban fighters posing in the abandoned U.S. embassy and driving U.S. military Humvees through the streets was a humiliation of historic proportions. How did this happen? How did the United States, the world’s greatest military power, leave Afghanistan in such a disgraceful, chaotic, and deadly manner?

This book seeks to answer those questions by meticulously breaking down:

• The failures of the Biden administration in setting the conditions for a withdrawal that was doomed from the start.
• The rushed, politically motivated decisions that ignored military advice.
• The disastrous execution of the withdrawal, from the closure of Bagram Air Base to the catastrophic failure at Kabul airport.
• The Taliban’s rapid takeover was entirely predictable but ignored by U.S. intelligence agencies.
• The deadly ISIS-K suicide bombing that could have been prevented.
• The heart-wrenching stories of those abandoned—American citizens, Afghan allies, and service members left to clean up the mess.

The withdrawal was not an end to the war—it was the beginning of a new, darker chapter. It emboldened America’s enemies, destroyed our credibility with our allies, and created a new breeding ground for terrorism. The consequences will be felt for generations.

©2025 Mary Elizabeth Baker (P)2025 Mary Elizabeth Baker