The Enduring Afghanistan War: Unraveling The Complexities Of A Protracted Conflict

The war in Afghanistan was the longest war in American history, lasting from 2001 to 2021. It was triggered by the September 11 attacks and consisted of three phases. The first phase was to topple the Taliban, which was achieved in a matter of two months. The second phase, from 2002 until 2008, was marked by a U.S. strategy of defeating the Taliban militarily and rebuilding core institutions of the Afghan state. The third phase, a turn to classic counterinsurgency doctrine, began in 2008 and accelerated with U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2009 decision to temporarily increase the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan. The war was declared over by President Biden in 2021, with the last U.S. military forces departing Afghanistan on August 30, 2021.

The Taliban's resurgence

• The withdrawal of US and NATO troops: The decision to withdraw international forces from Afghanistan left the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in charge of the country's security. However, the ANDSF faced significant challenges in holding territory and defending population centers, leading to the Taliban's resurgence.
• Taliban safe havens in Pakistan: The Taliban leadership relocated to southern Afghanistan and across the border to Pakistan, where they found support and waged an insurgency against the Afghan government and international coalition troops. Pakistan's security establishment cheered the Taliban's military gains and has long funnelled support to the group.
• Insurgent tactics: The Taliban adopted new tactics, such as suicide bombings and buried bombs (IEDs), which caused heavy casualties and enabled them to carry out attacks in major cities.
• Weakness of the Afghan government: The Afghan government was beset by corruption, and efforts to build a national army and police force were troubled due to inadequate international support and ethnic differences.
• Drug trade: The Taliban profited from Afghanistan's resurgent opium industry, which provided a significant source of revenue for the insurgency.
• Failure to eliminate Taliban leadership: Top insurgent leaders found safe havens in Pakistan's tribal regions, and the US was only partially successful in killing or capturing them.
• International neglect: The international focus shifted to Iraq, and Afghanistan received inadequate funding and attention for reconstruction and nation-building efforts.
• Strategic mistakes: Strategic mistakes by the US and its allies, such as missed opportunities for a stable political settlement, contributed to the Taliban's resurgence.

The US's other war

The US's war in Afghanistan was its longest war in history, lasting 20 years. It was also one of the most protracted and complex wars the US has ever fought.

The war began in 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. The US invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime, which had harboured al-Qaeda, the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. The US-led coalition quickly overthrew the Taliban and established an interim government.

However, the war soon became a stalemate. The Taliban regrouped and launched an insurgency against the US-backed government and coalition forces. The Taliban leadership relocated to southern Afghanistan and across the border to Pakistan, from where they waged their insurgency. The US and its allies remained in Afghanistan, forming a security mission to prevent the Taliban from returning to power and to create a new democratic authority in the country.

The war was marked by a series of strategic mistakes and missed opportunities by the US and its allies. The US lacked a clear goal beyond counter-terrorism objectives and was slow to commit the necessary resources to rebuild Afghanistan. The US also failed to effectively counter the Taliban's guerrilla tactics, such as suicide bombings and roadside bombs.

The war was also prolonged by the Taliban's ability to exploit Afghanistan's rural and tribal society, as well as the support they received from Pakistan and other regional actors. The Taliban found sanctuary in Pakistan and received funding and tactical support from Pakistani intelligence.

Another factor contributing to the war's length was the lack of a unified command and control structure among US and coalition forces. The US bore the heaviest burden of the war, but there were also troops from more than 20 other countries. These forces operated under different rules of engagement and had varying levels of commitment to the fight, which created challenges for coordination and hindered the overall effectiveness of the coalition.

The war also suffered from a lack of a clear and achievable political strategy. While the initial goal was to overthrow the Taliban and dismantle al-Qaeda, the US became mired in a counterinsurgency campaign that lasted for decades. The US tried various strategies, including nation-building, counter-terrorism, and counterinsurgency, but none were able to bring about a lasting peace.

The war also took a heavy toll on US troops and their families. Thousands of US service members were killed or wounded, and many more suffered from mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress. The financial cost of the war was also immense, with the US spending over $2 trillion.

In 2021, the US finally withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, bringing an end to the longest war in American history. The Taliban swiftly regained control of the country, and the war's legacy continues to be felt in the region and beyond.

Domestic corruption and politics

The war in Afghanistan was the longest war in American history, lasting 20 years. The conflict was triggered by the September 11 attacks and consisted of three phases. The first phase was to topple the Taliban, which was achieved in just two months. The second phase, from 2002 until 2008, was marked by a U.S. strategy of defeating the Taliban militarily and rebuilding core institutions of the Afghan state. The third phase, a turn to classic counterinsurgency doctrine, began in 2008 and accelerated with U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2009 decision to temporarily increase the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan.

The U.S. government's decision to flood Afghanistan with money, with little oversight, and its tolerance of the worst offenders, warlords, drug traffickers, and defense contractors, because they were allies, fueled corruption in the country.

Corruption in Afghanistan was a widespread and growing problem in Afghan society. Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked the country 162nd out of 180 countries. In a 2011 survey by the Asia Foundation, Afghans said corruption was their "third biggest problem (21%) after insecurity (35%) and unemployment (23%)".

Corruption in Afghanistan took many forms, including bribery, nepotism, graft, and illegal land transfers. The US Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) estimated that over half of the nation's annual customs revenue was lost to graft.

Corruption significantly undermined the U.S. mission in Afghanistan by damaging the legitimacy of the Afghan government, strengthening popular support for the insurgency, and channelling material resources to insurgent groups. Surveys and anecdotal evidence indicate that corrupt officials at all levels of government victimized and alienated the Afghan population.

The U.S. government should have made anti-corruption efforts a top priority in contingency operations to prevent systemic corruption from undermining U.S. strategic goals.

Influence of non-NATO actors

The Afghanistan War was a conflict between the Taliban and the US-led coalition forces, which included NATO and non-NATO actors. The non-NATO actors played a significant role in the conflict, and their influence can be seen in the following ways:

• Pakistan: Pakistan played a central role in the conflict and was a key supporter of the Taliban. The country's intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had an "official policy" of supporting the Taliban, and it provided them with military, financial, and political assistance. Pakistan's objective was to ensure that Afghanistan had a regime friendly to its interests and provided "geopolitical depth" in any future conflict with India.
• Iran: Iran sought to influence the war and took advantage of the conflict to weaken its regional rivals. It formed ties with the Taliban and Russia to 'bleed' the American forces. Iran also took out two of its regional enemies: Saddam Hussein through the Iraq War and the Taliban through the Afghanistan War.
• Saudi Arabia and Pakistan: These countries were identified as 'dominant players' that influenced the war. Saudi Arabia was a key supporter of the Taliban, providing financial assistance.
• China: China quietly expanded its influence in Afghanistan by signing mining contracts and building a military base. It also donated billions of dollars in aid and benefited from the war by gaining "considerable latitude in Central Asia" without any expenditure of blood, treasure, or reputation.
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain: These countries provided economic support to the Taliban.

American public misleading

The Afghanistan Papers, a collection of confidential government documents, revealed that US officials consistently and deliberately misled the American public about the war in Afghanistan. The documents, obtained by The Washington Post, include more than 2,000 pages of previously unpublished notes of interviews with over 400 people directly involved in the war. The interviews revealed that US officials were aware of the war's unwinnable nature but continued to propagate a narrative of progress and success.

The Afghanistan Papers bring to light the core failings of the war, highlighting the US government's inability to deliver on its promises. The documents underscore how three US presidents—George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump—and their military commanders failed to achieve their goals in Afghanistan.

US officials manipulated statistics and distorted facts to portray a positive picture of the war effort. They presented inflated figures and emphasised progress, even as the situation on the ground deteriorated. One senior National Security Council official acknowledged that metrics were manipulated to make it seem like the US was winning.

The Afghanistan Papers also expose the US government's failure to address rampant corruption in Afghanistan. US officials turned a blind eye to widespread corruption among Afghan officials, allowing the theft of US aid funds to go unpunished. This corruption undermined the legitimacy of the Afghan government and fuelled resentment towards the US-backed administration.

The revelations in the Afghanistan Papers drew comparisons to the Pentagon Papers, which revealed the US military's secret history of the Vietnam War and exposed the government's cover-up of military failure. The Afghanistan Papers similarly lay bare the US government's deception and its attempts to mislead the American public about the true state of the war.

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