It was the end of a 20-year war in Asia.

The original reason for deploying troops seemed distant, and many Americans could no longer

see the point of continuing merely for the sake of avoiding defeat.

A young senator was summoned to the White House for a briefing with the president.

Joe Biden was 32 in 1975 and representing Delaware in the Senate when America was searching

for the exit in Vietnam.

Biden reportedly told then-president Gerald Ford that the situation was hopeless, and

that in his view, America should get out of Vietnam as soon as possible.

Two weeks later, Saigon fell.

There have been lots of parallels with Vietnam since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban this

week.

Joe Biden is more aware of them than most.

Has he learned the lessons of history?

Or has he applied the wrong template to a very different war?

This is Chex and Balance.

I'm John Prado, the economist's US editor, and each week we discuss one big theme shaping

American politics and explore it in depth.

Today, why was America blindsided by the collapse of the Afghan government?

We'll look back at jubilation in America when another foreign power was driven out of Kabul.

Ask what this means for America's power in the world, and we'll ask what the US leaves

behind after 20 years in Afghanistan.

With me to discuss all of this are John Fasman, the US digital editor, and James Astel,

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