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Afghanistan, located at the crossroads of the Near East, Central Asia, South Asia, and China, has been devastated by nearly constant crisis and conflict since the 1970s. In 1996, following Soviet withdrawal from the country, the Taliban took control. This opened the door for extremists and terrorists to find a home there. One such person was the architect of the September 11 terror attacks, Osama bin Laden. In the wake of the horror of 9/11, the US military committed troops to Afghanistan, in an operation that would last 20 years.
But what did this mission entail, and how do things look now? Read through this gallery to find out.
On September 11, 2001, 19 members of al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners in the US, ultimately leading to the deaths of 2,977 people.
Al-Qaeda are an Islamist terrorist group who are granted sanctuary by Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The group was infamously led by founder Osama bin Laden.
US President George W. Bush signed the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) one week after the attacks took place, which permitted the use of force against people or groups who "planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 or harbored such organizations or persons."
Less than one month after the attacks, President Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, when the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden.
The Afghan Northern Alliance, a military alliance of groups in Afghanistan who fought a defensive war against the Taliban, were backed by the US and given special forces.
US-led forces overthrew the Taliban, who had been in charge in Afghanistan since the departure of the Soviets in 1996, within a matter of weeks.
In April 2002, a transitional Afghan government was established in Kabul, lead by Hamid Karzai. The United States Congress approved US$38 billion in spending to rebuild Afghanistan.
In 2003, attention was diverted from Afghanistan as an invasion of Iraq was mounted. The Taliban seized the opportunity to regroup in south and east Afghanistan.
In 2008, US command on the ground called for more troops to enforce an effective strategy against the Taliban. By mid-2008, there were 48,500 soldiers in the country.
One of Barack Obama's election promises was to end the war in Afghanistan. The new president set a deadline to reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan by 2011.
By the end of Obama's first year in office, the number of American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan had swelled to 100,000. The objective was to strengthen institutions in the country and halt the Taliban militarily, before reducing the US presence in the country.
On May 2, 2011, Osama Bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he had been in hiding.
In June 2011, Obama announced the US would begin withdrawing forces from Afghanistan. Negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban, and the US began.
In 2014, a bilateral security accord was signed between the US and Afghan governments. Beginning in 2015, the remaining US troops would train Afghan forces and lead anti-terrorist operations against al-Qaeda.
In late December 2014, the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended and was replaced by a new mission dubbed "Resolute Support." The security situation in the country began to deteriorate.
Armed combat in Afghanistan increased in 2015. Fighting between the Taliban and government forces escalated, and the Taliban took control of the city of Kunduz.
In 2016, Obama slowed down the pace of US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. He announced that 8,400 US troops would remain into 2017.
In February 2017, the US general in command of NATO forces, General John Nicholson, warned that he needed thousands more troops, telling Congress: "I believe we’re in a stalemate." A US government report indicated that losses of Afghan security forces had risen 35% in 2016, compared to 2015.
In August 2017, newly-elected President Donald Trump deployed thousands more troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number in the country to 14,000.
In 2019, it was announced that negotiators in Qatar and a Taliban delegation had agreed on a "framework" in principal, for a withdrawal of US troops.
In exchange for peace talks with the Afghan government, the Taliban would guarantee the territory they controlled would not become "a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals."
The Trump administration reached an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, in exchange for cutting ties to al-Qaeda and a stop to attacks on US forces.
The Biden administration continued with Trump's withdrawal agreement, but pushed back the deadline for the full exit of troops to September 11, 2021.
Two days after US troops left their largest installation in Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield, Biden announced that full withdrawal would take place earlier, by August 31.
However, the Taliban began launching a lightening-fast offensive that saw them take control of 17 provinces. They were poised to take Kabul by mid-August 2021.
The Taliban entered Kabul by August 15, with the Afghani president fleeing the country. Nations scrambled to evacuate citizens and vulnerable Afghans, as the Kabul airport came under US military control.
The Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or ISKP (ISIS-K), attacked the Kabul airport on August 26 as the chaotic evacuation continued. The bombing killed nearly 200 Afghans and 13 members of the US military.
On August 30, 2021, it was announced all US troops had left Afghanistan. But at least 100 US citizens, and countless Afghans who had worked for the US government, remained in the country.
In 2023, Pakistan announced it would begin expelling all undocumented foreigners, which included 1.7 million Afghans. The nation claimed the mass expulsion would help to make Pakistan safer. The decision coincided with worsening relations with the Taliban-led Afghan government.
In November 2023, a powerful earthquake hit the northeast of Herat city, killing 1,500 people and injuring 2,000 others, adding to the hardship facing Afghans.
Following the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan faces crisis. Two-thirds of the population, some 28.3 million people, require humanitarian assistance to survive. Six million live at emergency levels of food insecurity, one step away from famine.
Previously, nursing and midwifery were the only higher education routes left available for women by the Taliban. Male medics are not allowed to treat women without a male guardian present in Afghanistan, so this poses further concern for female patients in the country moving forward.
The Taliban's police force has a network of 90,000 CCTV cameras, monitoring the daily lives of millions in Kabul. The rise in surveillance cameras across Kabul reflects the Taliban’s increasingly sophisticated approach to enforcing law and order. Before their return to power, only 850 cameras monitored the capital, according to a spokesperson for the ousted security forces. While officials claim the surveillance system is designed to combat crime, critics warn it will likely be used to suppress dissent and enforce the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Sharia law.
Sources: (Al Jazeera) (United States Institute of Peace) (Foreign Policy) (European Commission)
Echoes of conflict: Afghanistan in the 21st century
The country has been in a state of upheaval for a long time
LIFESTYLE War
Afghanistan, located at the crossroads of the Near East, Central Asia, South Asia, and China, has been devastated by nearly constant crisis and conflict since the 1970s. In 1996, following Soviet withdrawal from the country, the Taliban took control. This opened the door for extremists and terrorists to find a home there. One such person was the architect of the September 11 terror attacks, Osama bin Laden. In the wake of the horror of 9/11, the US military committed troops to Afghanistan, in an operation that would last 20 years.
But what did this mission entail, and how do things look now? Read through this gallery to find out.