The Changing Nature Of Warfare: America's Experience In Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict that lasted from 2001 to 2021. It was a direct response to the September 11 attacks, which were plotted by al-Qaeda, a terrorist group that was harboured by the Taliban, an ultraconservative political and religious faction that ruled Afghanistan.

The war began when an international military coalition led by the United States launched an invasion of Afghanistan, declaring Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the war on terror. The US-led forces expelled the Taliban and their allies from major population centres, but Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, relocated to neighbouring Pakistan.

The conflict officially ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in US military history, surpassing the length of the Vietnam War by approximately six months.

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan

Phase 1: Toppling the Taliban

The first phase of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan was brief, lasting just two months. The goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the attacks, and to deny them a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government. The Taliban had ruled Afghanistan since 1996 and provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda.

On October 7, 2001, the US, alongside the UK, launched Operation Enduring Freedom, marking the public start of the invasion. The coalition captured Kabul on November 13 and toppled the Taliban by December 17. However, most members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban were not captured. Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, escaped into neighbouring Pakistan.

Phase 2: Defeating the Taliban and Rebuilding Afghanistan

The second phase, from 2002 until 2008, was marked by a US strategy of defeating the Taliban militarily and rebuilding core institutions of the Afghan state. The US and its allies established military bases near major cities across the country and set up the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to oversee military operations and train the new Afghan National Security Forces.

Phase 3: Counterinsurgency

The third phase, a turn to classic counterinsurgency doctrine, began in 2008 and accelerated with US President Barack Obama’s 2009 decision to temporarily increase US troop presence in Afghanistan. The larger force was used to implement a strategy of protecting the Afghan population from Taliban attacks and supporting efforts to reintegrate insurgents into Afghan society.

Withdrawal and Taliban Takeover

Despite the US and NATO's efforts, the Taliban remained resilient and continued to wage a powerful insurgency. In 2011, Obama announced the plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. The US and NATO combat mission formally ended in December 2014, marking the end of the US's longest war. However, thousands of US troops remained in Afghanistan to continue training and advising Afghan forces and to carry out counterterrorism operations.

In 2021, the US and its allies began withdrawing their remaining troops from Afghanistan, and the Taliban swiftly retook control of the country, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government.

The Taliban's resurgence

By 2007, large parts of Afghanistan had been retaken by the Taliban, who employed guerrilla warfare in the countryside and suicide attacks on urban targets. In response, the coalition sent a major influx of troops for counter-insurgency operations, with a "clear and hold" strategy for villages and towns. This influx peaked in 2011, with roughly 140,000 foreign troops operating under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command across Afghanistan.

The US also employed drone strikes in Pakistan, targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants. In May 2011, a US covert operation in Pakistan led to the killing of Osama bin Laden. This, coupled with the fact that the Taliban had retaken large parts of Afghanistan, led NATO leaders to begin planning an exit strategy.

In 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations in Afghanistan and officially transferred security responsibility to the Afghan government. However, the Taliban continued to gain momentum, and in 2020, the US and the Taliban signed a deal that stipulated the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by 2021. In exchange, the Taliban pledged to prevent any militant group from staging attacks from Afghan territory against the US and its allies.

Coinciding with the withdrawal of US troops, the Taliban launched a broad offensive throughout the summer of 2021, successfully re-establishing their control over Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul. On 15 August 2021, the Taliban declared victory, and the war was formally brought to a close.

The US-Taliban deal

The deal included four main provisions:

• Halt Attacks against the US: The Taliban guaranteed that it would prevent Afghan soil from being used by any group or individual to threaten US security and that of its allies.
• Withdrawal of US Troops: The US agreed to withdraw all foreign forces from Afghanistan within 14 months, provided the Taliban adhered to their commitments.
• Prisoner Swap: The US committed to working with relevant parties to release up to 5,000 Taliban and 1,000 government prisoners as a confidence-building measure.
• Intra-Afghan Peace Talks: The Taliban agreed to start intra-Afghan negotiations, despite previously rejecting direct talks with the Afghan government.

While the US and the Taliban fulfilled their initial commitments, the intra-Afghan prisoner swap, peace talks, and reduction in violence were marred by delays and setbacks. The Afghan government, which was excluded from the initial negotiations, expressed frustration over the continued rise in violence by the Taliban, which had taken a toll on civilians.

The deal was meant to pave the way for a comprehensive peace settlement between the Taliban and the Afghan government. However, the bigger challenge lay in achieving a lasting peace agreement between these two parties. Continued Taliban violence, a weak Afghan government, and objections from outside countries threatened to derail the peace process.

The US withdrawal

The withdrawal was the result of a February 2020 agreement between the US and the Taliban, which called for the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by 2021. In April 2021, NATO decided to withdraw all Allied troops from Afghanistan within a few months. The US set a deadline of 31 August 2021 for the withdrawal of its troops.

The withdrawal was chaotic and deadly. A suicide attack on 26 August 2021 killed as many as 180 people, including 13 American troops. The collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's swift capture of Kabul on 15 August 2021, hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, led to a rush to the Kabul airport, where crowds scrambled to be part of the evacuations.

The US and its allies evacuated more than 120,000 people from Kabul airport, including around 2,000 Afghans who had worked with NATO, and their families. The evacuation was the largest airlift in history.

The US State Department released a report in June 2023 detailing the failings of the Trump and Biden administrations around the withdrawal. The report found that the decisions of both administrations to withdraw US troops had detrimental consequences and that there had been insufficient consideration of worst-case scenarios.

The Taliban's final offensive

The Taliban's offensive included a continuation of the bottom-up succession of negotiated or paid surrenders from the village level upwards. The insurgents also made effective use of online social media and strategically chose to attack northern provinces. The Taliban's freedom of movement on the main Afghan highways was a result of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) following the US-recommended strategy of sacrificing rural areas in favour of defending key urban centres.

In May, the Taliban captured 15 districts from the Afghan government, including the country's second-largest dam. By the end of the month, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden had completely withdrawn their forces from Afghanistan. In June, the Taliban captured 69 districts and entered the cities of Kunduz and Puli Khumri. They also captured Afghanistan's main border crossing with Tajikistan and the Saydabad District, which is called the gateway to Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul.

On July 2, Germany and Italy withdrew their troops from Afghanistan, and US troops left Bagram Airfield. On July 5, the Taliban announced their intention to present a written peace plan to the Afghan Government in August, but this did not happen.

On August 6, the Taliban assassinated Dawa Khan Minapal, head of the Government Media and Information Centre, in Kabul. On the same day, the Taliban captured the provincial capital of Nimroz Province, Zaranj, making it the first capture of a provincial capital since the 2001 American invasion. The insurgents then swept across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days.

On August 14, the Taliban captured seven provincial capital cities, including Gardez, Sharana, Asadabad, Maymana, Mihtarlam, Nili, and Mazar-i-Sharif. On August 15, the Taliban entered Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province, unopposed, leaving Kabul as the last major city under Afghan government control.

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered the outskirts of Kabul from multiple directions, and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and the proliferation of terrorism.

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