With its last soldier home from Afghanistan, America can take stock and reflect.

Its withdrawal was never likely to be elegant and dignified but it has been much messier than expected.

Joe Biden must live with the consequences of an operation that has seemed rushed, chaotic and stained in blood:

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• The remains of 13 American service personnel, killed in a suicide bombing, landing back on US soil

• Ten members of the same Afghan family, innocent civilians, appear to have been killed in a US drone strike

• The impression of the world’s greatest military sent packing from Afghanistan by an Islamist guerrilla army

History will decide on the lasting impact these have on America’s power and influence, and the rest of the free world’s with it.

America emerged from the Cold War an undisputed lone superpower.

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A two-decade war on terror and two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have squandered so much of that legacy with so little to show for it.

America’s two-decade Afghan mission has strengthened its rivals as much as it has weakened its own standing in the world.

Others have been able to watch and learn from America’s mistakes. Russia, China and Iran have been able to adjust military tactics and hardware accordingly.

Allies’ confidence in the US has been undermined. This may have consequences when the US needs to build coalitions in future – over Taiwan for instance.

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Comparisons have been drawn with Vietnam. America recovered from the fall of Saigon it has been pointed out, eventually going on to prevail over communism in the Cold War.

It also has an impressive ability to reinvent itself and recover from adversity.

But after Vietnam, America’s economic supremacy was unchallenged for decades.

That’s no longer the case.

It is vying with China for economic and geopolitical dominance and the last few weeks have only weakened its position and reinforced the narrative of its decline.

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