As I left the palace, I was struck again by the liminal beauty of the grounds and the severe and unrelenting elegance of the architecture. Men and women walked around in well-tailored Western business suits. People, including men and women together, were seated in a chic glassed-in coffee bar in the outer courtyard. I wondered how long this bucolic scene would last. I was very much aware that this might prove to be the last time I’d be in the palace. As my vehicle pulled through the palace gates to return to our headquarters, I did not look back.

General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. (USMC, Ret.) was the fourteenth commander of U.S. Central Command. He retired in 2022. He is the Executive Director of the Global and National Security Institute and the Florida Center for Cyber Security at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Image: Afghanistan Government (Arg) (Courtesy Photo)