Rooting out global terrorism is not synonymous with imperialist hubris.

And those who strive for power through suicide bombings thrive in violent, nondemocratic societies, the kinds of places where leaders talk to their people with an AK-47 at their side.

We hope that pair of salient truths are being remembered at the White House as America mourns the loss Thursday of at least 13 American service members, killed along with some 200 Afghan men, women and children by a brutal terrorist attack outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Especially as we approach the 20th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

On an August day that proved to be the darkest of Joe Biden’s young presidency, the terrorist group known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, or IS-K, claimed credit for the pair of explosions that maimed or killed not just members of the U.S. armed forces working for the safety of others, but Afghans merely trying to secure their own security and freedom from oppression.

Although the day represented one of the worst days for U.S. casualties in the entire 20-year operation in Afghanistan, it does not appear to have been carried out by the Taliban, the long-standing adversary in that profoundly flawed campaign. It was the work of a third party, a yet-more-extreme group with a vested interest in undermining the Taliban.

ISIS-K is known for disregarding international borders on the premise that the Islamic Caliphate cannot be confined by such. Its stated goals include the defeat of Israel and the United States.

Clearly, the chaos outside the airport in Kabul offered up an ideal proving ground: crowds of innocent people, a lack of security, a desperation so intense that crowds reportedly even returned to the airport Friday despite the high likelihood of further attacks.

Instead of signaling that the events of 9/11 were in the rearview mirror, Americans have seen the specter of terrorism hurtling back into sight. There might not be direct evidence of ISIS planning attacks on U.S. soil but only a fool would see such a move as impossible. The group has often encouraged so-called lone wolves.

Thanks to the poorly planned withdrawal and evacuation efforts, ISIS-K did not need to come stateside to find U.S. targets, given that members of the armed forces were working their fingers to the bone trying to get America’s Afghan allies to safety.

In Afghanistan and beyond, the war on terror is far from over. All nations who believe in freedom, safety and democracy will have to reengage. There can be no withdrawal from that.