The Long Haul: Afghanistan's Enduring Wars And The Nations That Have Fought More

Afghanistan has a long history of conflict, dating back to around 500 B.C. when it was conquered by Darius I of Babylonia. Since then, it has been invaded by Alexander the Great, Mahmud of Ghazni, Genghis Khan, the British, the Soviets, and most recently, a U.S.-led coalition. The war in Afghanistan that began in 2001 and ended in 2021 was triggered by the September 11 attacks and consisted of three phases. The first phase was toppling the Taliban, which provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda, the perpetrators of the attacks. The second phase, from 2002 to 2008, focused on defeating the Taliban militarily and rebuilding core institutions of the Afghan state. The third phase, which began in 2008, adopted a classic counterinsurgency doctrine, with a temporary increase in U.S. troop presence. However, the strategy largely failed, and by the time the U.S. and NATO combat mission ended in 2014, the Afghanistan War had become the longest war in U.S. history.

The Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden to the US led to the invasion of Afghanistan

The US invasion of Afghanistan was a direct response to the country's Taliban regime harbouring Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the US.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban government extradite Osama bin Laden to the US and also expel al-Qaeda militants from Afghanistan. Bin Laden had been wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his role in the 1998 US embassy bombings, and had been active in Afghanistan since the Soviet-Afghan War.

The Taliban refused to extradite bin Laden and ignored demands to shut down terrorist bases or extradite other suspected terrorists. They requested evidence of bin Laden's involvement in the 9/11 attacks and offered to put him on trial in a neutral third country, but the US refused and demanded a direct handover.

In response, the US launched Operation Enduring Freedom on 7 October 2001, alongside the UK and other allies. The invasion's stated goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda and deny Islamist militants a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government.

The Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden was, therefore, the primary catalyst for the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, with Operation Enduring Freedom

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan, beginning on October 7, 2001, with Operation Enduring Freedom, was a response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on US soil that killed about 3,000 people. The invasion targeted Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, who were in power in Afghanistan at the time. The Taliban had seized around 85% of Afghanistan's territory, including the capital city of Kabul, and had provided a safe base of operations for Islamist militants.

The initial military objectives of Operation Enduring Freedom, as articulated by President George W. Bush, included the destruction of terrorist training camps and infrastructure within Afghanistan, the capture of Al-Qaeda leaders, and the cessation of terrorist activities in the country. The United States demanded that the Taliban government extradite Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, and expel Al-Qaeda militants from Afghanistan.

The American-led invasion marked the first phase of what would become a 20-year-long War in Afghanistan. Soon after the invasion, US-led forces toppled the Taliban government, and by February 2002, the major groups of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda had dispersed. However, the Taliban launched an insurgency against the American-led war effort, and protracted fighting continued for the next two decades.

In addition to military actions in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom was affiliated with counterterrorism operations in other countries, such as the OEF-Philippines and OEF-Trans Sahara, targeting remnants of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The United Kingdom was a key ally, offering support from the start of the invasion preparations. On the ground, more than 1,000 US soldiers were present initially, with numbers growing to more than 10,000 by December 2003.

The Taliban regime was quickly overthrown, with Kandahar falling on December 6, 2001, and the Taliban fleeing to Pakistan

The Taliban's fall from power in Afghanistan in 2001 was swift and decisive. Kandahar was the last major city under Taliban control, and it was assumed that capturing it would be difficult as it was where the Taliban movement had originated and where its power base was located.

The city fell on December 6, 2001, after several weeks of fighting, to a force of local militia under Pashtun military commanders and their American advisers. The anti-Taliban commander, Gul Agha Sherzai, and his forces of about 800 men, were outnumbered and under-equipped. After receiving supplies, they advanced on Kandahar through the Arghastan desert, attempting to bypass Taliban strongholds. While negotiating a surrender, Sherzai's convoy was ambushed by Taliban forces but managed to drive them back with the help of American air support.

As Sherzai's men advanced on Kandahar's airport, they met little resistance and discovered that the Taliban had already surrendered the city to Hamid Karzai's forces. Sherzai was declared Governor of Kandahar, and the city was fully secured by coalition forces by December 9.

The fall of Kandahar signalled the end of organised Taliban control of Afghanistan, and many key Taliban leaders escaped during negotiations for the surrender of the city. The al-Qaeda troops under Saif al-Adel managed to retreat from the city and escape to Pakistan.

The Taliban regime had been quickly overthrown, but the war was not over. Even as diplomats met in Doha, the success of the Taliban offensive called into question whether they would ever rejoin long-stalled peace talks. Instead, the group could come to power by force, or the country could splinter into factional fighting as it had done after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

Indeed, the Taliban would go on to retake control of Afghanistan in 2021, two decades after being removed from power by a US-led military coalition.

The US focus shifted to Iraq in 2003, allowing the Taliban to regroup and escalate attacks

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was triggered by the September 11 attacks and consisted of three phases. The first phase was to topple the Taliban, which was achieved within two months. 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.

In 2003, the US focus shifted to Iraq, allowing the Taliban to regroup and escalate attacks. The US declared an end to "major combat" in Afghanistan in May 2003, with President Bush announcing that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended". The US focus on Iraq meant that Afghanistan was starved of resources, with attention and troops being diverted to the looming conflict in Iraq. This allowed the Taliban to slowly regroup, initially in the south and east of Afghanistan.

The third phase of the war in Afghanistan began in 2008 and was accelerated by President Obama's decision in 2009 to temporarily increase the US troop presence. This larger force was used to implement a strategy of protecting the population from Taliban attacks and supporting efforts to reintegrate insurgents into Afghan society.

The shift in focus to Iraq in 2003 allowed the Taliban to regroup and escalate attacks, and the US was forced to implement a new strategy in 2008 to counter the Taliban's resurgence.

The US and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in February 2020, with the US pledging to withdraw all troops by May 2021

The US-Taliban deal, also known as the Doha Accord, was a peace agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban on February 29, 2020, in Doha, Qatar. The agreement was aimed at ending the 18-year-long war in Afghanistan that had killed over 157,000 people and cost the US around $2 trillion. The deal was the result of over a year of negotiations and did not include the Afghan government.

The agreement addressed four key issues: a temporary reduction in violence, the withdrawal of US and foreign troops, the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and counter-terrorism assurances. The US agreed to reduce its troop numbers from 12,000 to 8,600 within 135 days, and to withdraw all remaining troops 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 was a significant step towards ending the war in Afghanistan, but it faced many challenges. The bigger challenge was achieving a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Continued Taliban violence, a weak Afghan government, and objections from outside countries threatened to disrupt the peace process. There were also concerns about the protection of women's rights and the reintegration of Taliban fighters into society.

Despite these challenges, the US-Taliban agreement was a turning point in the Afghanistan War, paving the way for the potential end to a conflict that had lasted nearly two decades.

Frequently asked questions