The Afghan Conflict: Unraveling The Origins Of A Protracted War

The war in Afghanistan began in 2001, when the United States and its allies invaded the country following the September 11 attacks. The invasion aimed to topple the Taliban regime, which had provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda, the perpetrators of the attacks. The war in Afghanistan was part of the broader Global War on Terror declared by US President George W. Bush, which also included the war in Iraq.

The initial phase of the war was brief, with the Taliban quickly ousted from power. However, the conflict persisted for nearly two decades, as the Taliban waged an insurgency against the Western-backed government and international coalition troops. The war resulted in significant casualties and had far-reaching consequences for Afghanistan and the region.

The Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden

The Taliban repeatedly refused to comply with US demands, arguing that they required proof of bin Laden's involvement in the September 11 attacks and that they wanted to try him under Islamic law in Afghanistan or hand him over to a third country that would not be under US pressure. They also offered to negotiate with the US, but the Bush administration consistently rejected these offers, insisting that there would be no negotiations and that the Taliban must meet their demands or face consequences.

The Taliban's refusal to cooperate led to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, with the public start of Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001. The US and British airstrikes targeted al-Qaeda and Taliban targets, and ground forces were deployed two weeks later. The Taliban regime quickly unravelled, with Northern Alliance forces overtaking several towns and cities with US support. The fall of Kandahar on December 6, 2001, marked the end of Taliban power, and an interim government was established with Hamid Karzai as the leader.

Despite the ouster of the Taliban regime, bin Laden managed to escape and was believed to have fled to Pakistan. The manhunt for him continued, and he was eventually killed by US forces in 2011.

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan

On September 20, 2001, Bush demanded that the Taliban stop harbouring members of al-Qaeda and warned that the war on terror would not end until terrorism was eradicated. When the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden and close down terrorist bases, the US, alongside the UK, launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001. The invasion was also supported by other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, and Germany.

The initial strikes were against al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations. The US also aimed to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the attacks, and to deny Islamist militants a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government. The Taliban had controlled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and imposed a severe interpretation of Islamic law.

The invasion was also supported by the Northern Alliance, an anti-Taliban coalition in Afghanistan. The Northern Alliance had been locked in a losing fight with the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War. The US-led invasion marked the first phase of what would become the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan.

The fall of the Taliban

The invasion, known as Operation Enduring Freedom, began with airstrikes on October 7, 2001, targeting al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations. It was supported by a coalition of allies, including the UK, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany. The campaign also involved the deployment of US and British special forces who worked with anti-Taliban forces on the ground.

The Taliban regime quickly unravelled, with major cities falling to anti-Taliban forces. On November 9, 2001, the Taliban suffered a significant loss at Mazar-e-Sharif, leading to the surrender of other strongholds over the following week. On November 13, 2001, the Taliban retreated from Kabul without a fight, and on December 6, 2001, Kandahar, the Taliban's spiritual home, fell. This marked the end of Taliban power, as their leadership fled to rural areas and across the border to Pakistan.

On December 5, 2001, a UN-sponsored conference in Bonn, Germany, appointed Hamid Karzai as the head of an interim government. The Bonn Agreement, reached with substantial Iranian diplomatic help, also established an international peacekeeping force to maintain security in Afghanistan. The Taliban's surrender of Kandahar and the flight of their leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, signalled the official fall of the Taliban regime.

Despite the fall of the Taliban, al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, continued to hide out in the mountains and later escaped to Pakistan. The focus then shifted to reconstruction and nation-building efforts in Afghanistan, with the US and its allies providing financial and military assistance. However, the Taliban leadership regrouped and waged an insurgency against the Western-backed government and international coalition troops from their bases in southern Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The hunt for Osama bin Laden

In the years following his disappearance, the US government made many attempts to locate bin Laden. In 2009, US Army General Stanley McChrystal said that bin Laden would need to be "captured or killed" to "finally defeat al-Qaeda."

In 2010, American intelligence officials discovered the whereabouts of bin Laden by tracking one of his couriers. They learned the courier's pseudonym from detainees at Guantanamo Bay and, in 2009, discovered that he lived in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In August 2010, CIA paramilitary operatives located the courier and followed him back to a compound in Abbottabad, which they speculated was bin Laden's location.

On May 1, 2011, US Navy SEALs carried out an assault on the compound, during which bin Laden was killed. The SEALs overpowered the compound's remaining residents, killing several, and extracted bin Laden's body, which was buried at sea.

The operation, known as Operation Neptune Spear, was a 40-minute raid by members of the US special operations forces and Navy SEALs on bin Laden's safe house in Abbottabad, Pakistan. It took place on May 2, 2011, around 01:00 Pakistan Standard Time.

The death of bin Laden, the US's primary target for the war in Afghanistan, fuelled the debate about continuing the war. As President Obama prepared to announce the withdrawal of some or all of the US troops in July 2011, congressional lawmakers increasingly called for a hastened drawdown of US troops.

The rise of the Taliban insurgency

The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a US-led coalition of forces that included all members of NATO.

The Taliban is a predominantly Pashtun, Islamic fundamentalist group that returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after waging a twenty-year insurgency. The group was formed in the early 1990s by Afghan mujahideen, or Islamic guerrilla fighters, who had resisted the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

The Taliban's first regime began in 1994 when a group of former fighters subdued a local warlord and began pacifying nearby areas. The faction, which enjoyed popular support with its promise of security and religious fervour, quickly grew into the movement now known as the Taliban. By late 1996, the Taliban had seized the capital, Kabul, and gained effective control over some two-thirds of the country.

The Taliban imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, banning women from working and receiving an education, and enforcing brutal punishments such as stoning and amputation. The Taliban also provided sanctuary to Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and refused to extradite him. This refusal, along with human rights abuses, led to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, which quickly ousted the Taliban regime.

Following their fall from power, the Taliban regrouped across the border in Pakistan and began taking back territory. In 2005, the Taliban began a resurgence, showing indications of greater coordination and resilience among its fighters. In 2009, as fighting grew, newly elected US President Barack Obama ordered a surge in US troop presence.

In 2020, the US and the Taliban signed a peace deal, agreeing to a full withdrawal of US troops in exchange for the Taliban preventing territory under its control from being used by terrorist groups and entering negotiations with the Afghan government. However, the Taliban quickly resumed attacks on Afghan security forces and civilians, and in 2021, as US and allied troops withdrew, the Taliban intensified their insurgency, capturing more territory and eventually seizing Kabul.

Frequently asked questions