Whatever those words are that apparently sound a lot like Camp Keating, the combat outpost where US troops were greatly outnumbered and besieged 5 days ago, resulting in 8 US fatalities, and well over 100 Taliban dead.

So, now, after the many words about the “casualties inflicted on the enemy,” the US Army is bugging out of the camp.

I do not mean in any way to diminish the bravery and the sacrifice of our troops, rather I am disparaging the leadership and competence of senior officers. The location of this forward base appears to have been an invitation to disaster.

This entire affair sounds like the Battle of Khe Sanh in miniature: It was a day, instead of months, and it was perhaps 500 combatants on both sides, as opposed to about 30,000 on both sides, but you have the siege, the asymmetric fight, the declaration of victory by the US military, and then the withdrawal from the position.

The echos of Khe Sanh are eerie.