The Afghanistan War's Lingering Shadows: Stories Of American Soldiers

The War in Afghanistan was the longest war in US military history, lasting from 2001 to 2021. It was triggered by the September 11 attacks, which were orchestrated by al-Qaeda, a terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, which was under the control of the Taliban, an extremist Islamic movement.

In the aftermath of the attacks, the administration of US President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban hand over Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders. When the Taliban refused, the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan, marking the start of Operation Enduring Freedom. The US relied on support from the Northern Alliance, a coalition of anti-Taliban militias, and anti-Taliban Pashtuns in southern Afghanistan.

The US-led coalition quickly overthrew the Taliban regime, forcing its leaders to retreat into rural areas and across the border to Pakistan. Hamid Karzai, a little-known tribal leader, was chosen to lead the country on an interim basis. The US focus then shifted to reconstruction and nation-building efforts in Afghanistan, with Bush announcing a Marshall Plan for the country. However, the development efforts were inadequately funded, as attention shifted to the looming Iraq War.

Despite the initial success of the invasion, the Taliban regrouped and reasserted its presence, adopting new tactics such as suicide bombings and buried bombs, causing heavy casualties. The US responded by increasing troop numbers in Afghanistan and targeting insurgent leaders in Pakistan with drone strikes. However, the Taliban continued to escalate its attacks, and the war became increasingly unpopular in the US and its ally countries.

In 2011, US Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden in Pakistan, and in 2014, NATO formally ended its combat mission in Afghanistan, transferring security responsibilities to Afghan forces. Efforts to negotiate peace with the Taliban continued, and in 2020, the US and the Taliban signed a peace agreement. However, the Taliban swiftly regained power in 2021 as the US withdrew its troops, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government. The war resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a price tag of around $2 trillion.

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks

The Taliban had imposed an extremist version of Islam on the country, committing countless human rights abuses, particularly against women, girls, and ethnic Hazaras. During their rule, large numbers of Afghans lived in poverty, and millions were thought to have suffered from starvation.

In the weeks prior to the invasion, the US and the UN Security Council demanded that the Taliban turn over Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, for prosecution. The Taliban refused, and after deeming their counteroffers unsatisfactory, the US and its allies began the invasion with an aerial bombardment of Taliban and al-Qaeda installations in Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Konduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif.

After the air campaign softened Taliban defenses, the coalition began a ground invasion, with Northern Alliance forces providing most of the troops and the US and other nations giving air and ground support. On November 12, the Taliban retreated from Kabul, and by early December, Kandahar, the last Taliban stronghold, had fallen.

The conflict in Afghanistan would span two decades and become the longest war in US history. During the 20-year conflict, more than 3,500 allied soldiers were killed, with over 20,000 Americans injured. Approximately 69,000 Afghan security forces were killed, along with roughly 51,000 civilians and 51,000 militants.

The Taliban was removed from power in December 2001, and the US-led coalition remained in Afghanistan to form a security mission

The US-led coalition remained in Afghanistan to form a security mission, sanctioned by the United Nations, with the goal of creating a new democratic authority in the country that would prevent the Taliban from returning to power. A new Afghan Interim Administration was established, and international rebuilding efforts were launched.

The US-led coalition forces were joined by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was established by the United Nations on December 20, 2001, to maintain security in Kabul and surrounding areas. The ISAF's mandate did not extend beyond the Kabul area for the first few years. Eighteen countries were contributing to the force in February 2002.

The CIA also created Counter-terrorism Pursuit Teams (CTPT) staffed by Afghans at the war's beginning. This force grew to over 3,000 by 2010 and was considered one of the "best Afghan fighting forces." These units were not only effective in operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, but also expanded their operations into Pakistan.

The US-led coalition forces drove the Taliban from power and built military bases near major cities across the country. However, most al-Qaeda and Taliban were not captured, escaping to neighbouring Pakistan or retreating to rural or remote mountainous regions.

The US-led coalition forces faced a resurgence of the Taliban from 2003 onwards, with the Taliban regaining control of several villages by the end of 2005

The Taliban, a predominantly Pashtun Islamic fundamentalist group, faced a resurgence from 2003 onwards, regaining control of several villages by the end of 2005. The group had been defeated and overthrown by US-led coalition forces in 2001, but they soon regrouped and began a guerrilla war to expel US forces from Afghanistan.

In May 2003, high-ranking Taliban officials proclaimed that the Taliban had regrouped and were ready to wage a guerrilla war. Mullah Omar, the then-hidden Taliban leader, assigned five operational zones to Taliban commanders, including Dadullah, who took charge in Zabul province.

In late 2004, Omar announced an insurgency against "America and its puppets" (i.e. transitional Afghan government forces) to "regain the sovereignty of our country".

In 2006, Afghanistan began facing a wave of attacks by suicide bombers and improvised explosives. The Taliban spent several years regrouping and launched a re-escalation of the insurgency campaign in 2006.

In 2009, the Taliban controlled up to 54% of Afghanistan, and by 2016, they controlled 20% of the country. By July 2021, the Taliban had swept back into power, capturing the capital of Kabul and forcing President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country.

The US-Taliban deal was signed on February 29, 2020, and stipulated the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by 2021

The US-Taliban deal, signed on February 29, 2020, was a significant development in the US's longest war, which had, at that point, been ongoing for nearly two decades. The agreement, signed in Doha, Qatar, was the result of over a year of negotiations and laid out a timetable for the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan.

The deal stipulated that the US would reduce its forces in Afghanistan from about 13,000 troops to 8,600 within 135 days, with a complete withdrawal to follow within 14 months (by May 1, 2021) if the Taliban upheld its commitments. In return, the Taliban pledged to prevent any group or individual from using Afghan soil to threaten the US and its allies, and to sever ties with terrorist organisations, including Al-Qaeda.

The agreement also envisioned a prisoner swap, the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and the removal of sanctions. Notably, the Afghan government was not a party to the deal and, in March 2020, rejected its call for a prisoner exchange with the Taliban. Despite this, the prisoner swap went ahead, with 5,000 Taliban prisoners exchanged for 1,000 Afghan government captives.

The US-Taliban deal was only the first step towards achieving a comprehensive peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Experts stressed that the bigger challenge would be negotiating an agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government on Afghanistan's future. Many Afghans feared that a US withdrawal could spark new conflict and eventually allow the Taliban to regain control.

The US military withdrawal from Afghanistan was completed on August 30, 2021, marking the end of the 2001-2021 war.

The Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, 2021, marking the end of the US-led war in Afghanistan

The Taliban's victory was facilitated by support from Pakistan. Although Pakistan was a major US ally before and after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, elements of the Pakistan government (including the military and intelligence services) have for decades maintained strong logistical and tactical ties with Taliban militants, and this support helped support the insurgency in Afghanistan. The Taliban's victory also came as a surprise to many, including the governments of the United States and their allies, Russia and the Taliban themselves.

The US military departed the country on August 30, a day ahead of schedule, ending a 20-year occupation and leaving Afghanistan in the Taliban's hands. The American mission in Afghanistan came to a tragic and chaotic end. The collapse of the Afghan government, after the United States spent billions to support it and the Afghan security forces, was a crushing and violent coda to the US military mission in America's longest war.

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