A Complex Conflict: Afghanistan's War Involving Multiple Nations

The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict that lasted from 2001 to 2021. It was a direct response to the September 11 attacks, with an international military coalition led by the United States declaring Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the war on terror. The Taliban and its allies were expelled from major population centers by US-led forces, but Osama bin Laden relocated to neighbouring Pakistan. The conflict officially ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic and re-established the Islamic Emirate.

The war was the longest in US military history, surpassing the Vietnam War. It resulted in the deaths of an estimated 176,000–212,000+ people, including 46,319 civilians.

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan

The US-led forces included the UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany, with other countries providing logistical support. The invasion was the first phase of what would become the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan.

The US military presence in Afghanistan bolstered the Northern Alliance, which had been locked in a losing fight with the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War. The Northern Alliance had been confined to the country's northeast corner, while the Taliban had seized around 85% of Afghanistan's territory.

The stated goal of the invasion was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the attacks under the leadership of Osama bin Laden, and to deny Islamist militants a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government.

The invasion made rapid progress over the next two months. The coalition captured Kabul on November 13 and toppled the Taliban by December 17, after which international military bases were set up near major cities across the country. However, most members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban were not captured.

In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council established the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to oversee military operations in Afghanistan and train the new Afghan National Security Forces. At the Bonn Conference that same month, Hamid Karzai was selected to lead the Afghan Interim Administration.

Simultaneously, the Taliban's founding leader, Muhammad Umar, reorganized the movement to wage asymmetric warfare against the coalition, and by 2002, the group had launched an insurgency against the American-led war effort.

The invasion was a "striking military success". The US achieved its war aims while committing a force of only 110 CIA officers, 350 special operators, and 5,000 Rangers and Marines. The model of special forces working with local fighters and calling in precision airstrikes was heavily used by the US during later operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

The Taliban's resurgence

The Taliban regrouped in Pakistan and began to launch attacks on Afghan government soldiers, NGO humanitarian workers, and US soldiers. By 2007, large parts of Afghanistan had been retaken by the Taliban, and the coalition sent a major influx of troops for counter-insurgency operations. However, the Taliban continued to gain momentum, and in 2021, they launched a broad offensive throughout the summer, successfully re-establishing their control over Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul.

The US-Taliban deal

The agreement addressed four issues: reducing violence, withdrawing foreign troops, starting intra-Afghan negotiations, and guaranteeing Afghanistan won’t again become a refuge for terrorists. The deal was a stepping stone to a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and not a replacement for an Afghan agreement. The four "interrelated" elements of the agreement were:

• Counterterrorism actions by the Taliban
• A conditional timeline for US troop withdrawal
• Commencing intra-Afghan talks
• Discussion of conditions that would lead to a permanent ceasefire

The deal was signed by US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban's Abdul Ghani Baradar. It paved the way for a full US withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the start of intra-Afghan talks on a political settlement of the conflict.

The Taliban's last offensive

The Taliban's effective use of online social media, its strategic choice of attacking northern provinces, and the Taliban's freedom of movement on the main Afghan highways that resulted from the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) following the US-recommended strategy of sacrificing rural areas in favour of defending key urban centres were some of the factors that led to the success of the offensive.

The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and proliferation of terrorism.

The US withdrawal

The last US military aircraft departed from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, marking the end of America's longest war. The withdrawal, however, was not without its casualties. On August 26, 2021, two weeks before the final withdrawal, 13 US service members were killed and at least 18 were injured in an attack at a checkpoint outside the Kabul airport.

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