Following the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan and the U.S. withdrawal there, a great deal of energy has been devoted to understanding what happened and why. For those who would like to explore complexities and understand this situation more fully, there will be a virtual academic lecture titled “Afghanistan in Ruins.”

Tuesday morning classes had barely begun when the American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45 a.m. and the world came to a standstill. Eighteen minutes later,...