The Elusive Exit: America's Long Goodbye To Afghanistan

The United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan was a long and complex process that began in 2020 and ended on 30 August 2021. The US-led war in Afghanistan lasted 20 years, making it America's longest war. The US withdrawal was triggered by the signing of the US-Taliban deal in February 2020, which stipulated fighting restrictions for both parties and provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan. The deal was negotiated by the Trump administration and was later supported by the Biden administration, which finalised the withdrawal by August 2021.

The US officially left Afghanistan on 30 August 2021

The Biden administration's final decision in April 2021 to evacuate all US troops by 31 August 2021, without leaving a residual force, was a critical event that triggered the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The US had previously agreed to an initial reduction of forces from 13,000 to 8,600 troops by July 2020, with a complete withdrawal by 1 May 2021, if the Taliban upheld its commitments. However, the Taliban began a final offensive on 1 May, and on 15 August, they seized control of Kabul, leading to a chaotic evacuation of US and NATO personnel from Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was not without controversy, as some criticised the decision to leave, citing concerns about the potential resurgence of the Taliban and the impact on regional security. Others supported the withdrawal, arguing that the US presence in Afghanistan constituted a "forever war" that needed to end. The Biden administration defended its decision, stating that the US military could not transform Afghanistan into a modern democracy and that it was time to refocus resources on other priorities.

The last US military planes left Kabul airport at 11:59 p.m. on 30 August 2021, bringing an end to America's longest war and signalling the start of a new chapter in Afghanistan's history.

The US-Taliban deal was signed in February 2020

On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a historic agreement in Doha, Qatar, to end the United States' longest war. The deal was the result of more than a year of stop-and-start negotiations between the two sides and laid out a timetable for the final withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan.

The agreement was conditional on the Taliban upholding its commitments, which included preventing any group or individual from using Afghan soil to threaten the United States and its allies, and severing ties with terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda. In return, the United States agreed to a phased withdrawal of all US and NATO troops from Afghanistan within 14 months.

The deal also included a prisoner swap, with 5,000 Taliban prisoners exchanged for 1,000 Afghan government captives, and the start of intra-Afghan peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

The US-Taliban deal was a significant development in the nearly two-decade-old conflict in Afghanistan, which began after the September 11 attacks and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. The war had vexed three White House administrations and left mistrust and uncertainty on all sides. The agreement was seen as a stepping stone towards a comprehensive peace settlement and the start of direct negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

However, the deal was not without its challenges and ambiguities. The Afghan government was not a party to the February agreement and criticized the prisoner swap, which saw many convicted Taliban fighters returned to the battlefield. There were also concerns about the Taliban's continued links to terrorist groups, the group's commitment to reducing violence, and the potential for a power vacuum if US troops withdrew too quickly.

Despite these challenges, the US-Taliban deal was a crucial step in the peace process, and the Biden administration later announced its intention to complete the withdrawal of US troops by September 2021.

The US withdrawal was part of the Trump administration's strategy to end the forever war

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was part of the Trump administration's strategy to end the "forever war". In February 2020, the Trump administration negotiated a deal with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, which stipulated fighting restrictions for both parties and provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan in return for the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments.

The deal, known as the "Doha agreement", was signed by US diplomatic envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban. It was the result of nine rounds of direct talks between the two parties and raised the prospect of the Taliban regaining political power in Afghanistan. The agreement set a date for the final withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, and included the release of 5,000 imprisoned Taliban soldiers.

The Trump administration kept to the pact, reducing US troop levels from about 13,000 to 2,500 by the end of its term in January 2021. The Biden administration, which inherited the deal, initially delayed the withdrawal deadline but ultimately pushed ahead with a plan to withdraw by August 31, 2021.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was part of a broader strategy to end America's longest war, which had lasted nearly 20 years by the time of the withdrawal. The war in Afghanistan had also become the deadliest conflict for the US since the Vietnam War, with nearly 2,500 US servicemen and women killed.

The decision to withdraw was driven by a desire to end a protracted and inconclusive war that had cost the US trillions of dollars and strained its military through repeated deployments. The US also shifted its strategic focus to countering the rise of China and Russia and wanted to reallocate military resources to the Asia-Pacific region.

However, the US withdrawal was criticized for being poorly executed and not adequately planning for the evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies. The rapid collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in August 2021 took the US government by surprise and led to a chaotic evacuation effort.

The US withdrawal was criticised for its poor planning and execution

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was criticised for its poor planning and execution. The Biden administration's handling of the situation in Afghanistan was broadly criticised, with only about a quarter of Americans saying the administration had done an excellent or good job.

The US withdrawal was criticised for its lack of a "conditions-based" approach. The Trump administration's deal with the Taliban was a unilateral withdrawal, not a conditions-based one. A conditions-based withdrawal would have allowed the US to exert leverage on the Taliban to achieve a political settlement. Instead, the Taliban was emboldened by the deal, and the US lost all its leverage within a week and a half.

The US also failed to foresee the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and military. The Taliban took control of its first province on 6 August 2021, and by 15 August, fighters had entered the capital of Kabul, and the Afghan president had fled the country. This was despite the US spending billions of dollars on military aid to Afghanistan over 20 years.

The US was also criticised for failing to evacuate Afghan civilians and allies. While the US did eventually evacuate thousands of Afghans, this was chaotic and poorly planned, and many were left behind.

The US withdrawal was supported by some as a fulfilment of a campaign promise

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was supported by some as a fulfilment of a campaign promise.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was a key campaign promise of former President Donald Trump, who had promised to end the "forever wars" and reduce the number of US troops deployed overseas. In February 2020, the Trump administration signed the United States–Taliban deal, which provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan. This deal was seen as a way to end America's longest war and bring home US troops.

Trump had initially pushed for a complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by November 2020, but was convinced by his advisers to delay the withdrawal until May 2021. The deal with the Taliban was controversial and was opposed by some US politicians and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who felt that it conceded too much to the Taliban. Despite this opposition, Trump remained committed to the withdrawal, seeing it as a foreign policy victory.

When Joe Biden took office, he did not reverse the course set by the Trump administration, although he did push back the withdrawal deadline to September. Biden had previously signalled his support for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan during his presidential campaign, and he wanted to honour the agreement made by the US government. In his announcement of the withdrawal in April 2021, Biden said that the US had achieved its objectives in Afghanistan and that it was time to end the "forever war". He also argued that prolonging the US military presence would have led to more American casualties and risked escalating the conflict.

Some analysts and commentators supported the decision to withdraw, arguing that the US had achieved its primary objective of degrading the terrorist threat from Afghanistan. They also pointed out that the threat of terrorism from other regions, such as Africa and the Middle East, was more significant than that from Afghanistan. Additionally, there was a recognition that the US military presence had not been able to bring about a desirable peace deal and that US resources would be better spent on other strategic priorities, such as countering the rise of China and Russia.

However, the withdrawal was not without its critics, who argued that it would undermine the fragile security situation in Afghanistan and hamper ongoing peace talks. There were also concerns that the withdrawal would lead to a resurgence of the Taliban and a rollback of political and human rights in the country. Despite these concerns, the Biden administration pushed ahead with the withdrawal, and the last US military planes left Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, marking the end of the 20-year war.

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