Ruqayyah Snyder
The war in Afghanistan was the longest war in American history, lasting 20 years. It began in 2001 when the United States, alongside British armed forces and Afghan fighters from the Northern Alliance, invaded the country to overthrow the Taliban, who had controlled most of Afghanistan since 1996. The Taliban had allowed al-Qaeda, a terrorist organisation led by Osama Bin Laden, to have training camps in the country. In September 2001, al-Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The United States believed that Bin Laden was behind the attacks and decided to invade Afghanistan when the Taliban refused to hand him over. The invasion was also supported by other countries, including the UK.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Reason for war | To root out al-Qaeda and prevent future terrorist attacks against the United States |
| Objective | To ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack the United States again |
| Outcome | The US succeeded in its initial objective of rooting out al-Qaeda and preventing future attacks |
| Resulting issues | Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, with the Taliban taking control of the country |
| US withdrawal | The US withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a 20-year occupation |
| US troops | 2,448 US troops and personnel died in the war, with 20,722 wounded |
| US expenditure | The US spent over $2 trillion in Afghanistan |
What You'll Learn
The US wanted to root out al-Qaeda and prevent future terrorist attacks
The US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was a direct response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Close to 3,000 people died in the attacks, and the US believed that Osama Bin Laden—the head of al-Qaeda—was responsible.
Al-Qaeda had been allowed to operate training camps in Afghanistan during the time that the Taliban controlled the country. The US demanded that the Taliban hand over Bin Laden, but when they refused, the US decided to use military force.
The US-led invasion of Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, with the US military—supported by the UK and other countries—bombing al-Qaeda and Taliban targets. The Taliban were quickly driven out of the capital city, Kabul, but Afghanistan remains a dangerous place.
In 2011, ten years after the war in Afghanistan began, Bin Laden was found and killed by US soldiers in Pakistan.
The US remained in Afghanistan for another decade, with President Biden eventually announcing a full withdrawal of US troops by September 11, 2021.
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The US wanted to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden
The US-led war in Afghanistan began in 2001, in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The attacks, orchestrated by Osama Bin Laden, killed nearly 3,000 people.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the US demanded that the Taliban, the group in control of Afghanistan at the time, hand over Osama Bin Laden. When the Taliban refused, the US decided to use military force. In October 2001, the US began bombing Afghanistan, targeting Bin Laden's al-Qaeda fighters and the Taliban.
Bin Laden evaded capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. In the following years, US forces searched for him along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In 2010, US intelligence agencies developed information that Bin Laden was likely living in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
On May 2, 2011, US Navy SEALs carried out a raid on the compound in Abbottabad, resulting in the death of Osama Bin Laden. The operation, code-named Operation Neptune Spear, was a CIA-led mission involving two dozen Navy SEALs. The raid lasted about 40 minutes, during which Bin Laden was killed by a shot to the head.
Bin Laden's death was a significant victory for the US and brought a sense of justice and retribution to the families of 9/11 victims. However, the war in Afghanistan continued for another decade, ending in 2021 with the withdrawal of US troops and the return of the Taliban to power.
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The US wanted to overthrow the Taliban
The Taliban had controlled most of Afghanistan since 1996 and allowed al-Qaeda to have training camps there. The US believed that Osama Bin Laden, who was the head of al-Qaeda, was the man behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The US demanded that the Taliban extradite Bin Laden to the US but the Taliban refused. The US then decided to use their armed forces to overthrow the Taliban.
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The US wanted to support the Afghan government
The US also wanted to ensure that Afghanistan would not become a safe haven for international terrorists to attack NATO member countries. To this end, the US worked with the Afghan government to prevent any group or individual, including Al-Qaeda, from using Afghan soil to threaten the security of the US and its allies.
The US also wanted to ensure that Afghanistan could never again be used as a base for attacks on the US homeland. This was a key national security interest and the primary reason for the US invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The US also wanted to root out Al-Qaeda and prevent future terrorist attacks against the US that were planned from Afghanistan. This objective was achieved with the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011.
Additionally, the US wanted to support the Afghan government in building a stable nation and improving governance, rule of law, and long-term development. This included helping to develop professional, capable, and self-sustaining Afghan National Security Forces.
The US also wanted to promote economic growth in Afghanistan and assist in the development of key sectors such as health, education, and infrastructure.
Finally, the US wanted to protect the rights of women, girls, and minorities in Afghanistan and support Afghan civil society.
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The US wanted to train and equip Afghan security forces
The US has been building Afghanistan's security forces to help counter terrorist threats. Since 2005, Congress has appropriated more than $78.8 billion to build, equip, train, and sustain these forces. The US has spent over $88 billion to train and equip Afghanistan’s army and police, nearly two-thirds of all of its foreign aid to the country since 2002.
The US and NATO pledged to pay $4 billion a year until 2024 to finance Afghanistan’s military and security forces, which are struggling to contain an advancing Taliban. The US has spent nearly $89 billion to build, equip and train the forces, including nearly $10 billion for vehicles and aircraft.
The US military departed Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, ending a 20-year occupation and leaving Afghanistan in the Taliban’s hands. 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.
The US history of training foreign militaries isn't particularly impressive. The degree of difficulty is extraordinarily high. The US ought perhaps to marvel that such programs ever succeed, not that they mostly fail.
The US tends to undertake large-scale train-and-equip programs when it doesn't want to do the fighting itself. This has been the story in Iraq and Afghanistan. But sending that signal heartens adversaries and weakens the very forces the US is attempting to help.
The US has made a commitment to building Afghanistan's security and governance structure to counter terrorist threats and create sustainable security and stability in Afghanistan. The US has trained and equipped a standing force of over 300,000 Afghan personnel today and hundreds of thousands over the past two decades.
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Frequently asked questions
The purpose of the Afghanistan War was to root out al-Qaeda and prevent future terrorist attacks against the United States.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, were planned by al-Qaeda from Afghanistan. The United States believed that Osama Bin Laden, the head of al-Qaeda, was behind the attacks.
The outcome of the Afghanistan War was the overthrow of the Taliban regime and the death of Osama Bin Laden. However, Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, and the war resulted in a significant loss of life and financial cost for the United States.
The United States decided to end its military presence in Afghanistan because the threat of terrorism had evolved and become more dispersed globally. Additionally, the United States wanted to focus on other national security priorities, such as competing with China and addressing cyberattacks and nuclear proliferation.
The Afghanistan War had a devastating impact on the Afghan people, resulting in decades of conflict and instability and loss of life. The war also disrupted efforts to build a stable nation and resulted in a massive refugee crisis.
