The Afghanistan war has now come full circle ending as it began with the Taliban in power

On august 31st 2021, the US withdrew all their forces from Afghanistan, undoing in couple of hours, the progress accomplished over two decades. Tragically, the end of the American mission in Afghanistan was met by the brutal arrival of the Taliban, a terrorist organization advocating for their extremist interpretation of Islam defaming in the process the holy shariah.

But to better understand Afghanistan’s current situation let us first look at a timeline of its history

11/09/2001: 9/11 terrorist attacks orchestrated by al-Qaeda against the US

2001: US wages war against Afghanistan (sanctuary for al-Qaeda)

2008: increased troop presence in Afghanistan to rebuild core institutions of the afghan state

2011: start of US troops withdrawal

30/08/2021: withdrawal completed

Kabul falls under the Taliban’s control Why did the US withdraw their troops? The agreement to withdraw from Afghanistan was finalized by the trump institution as part of the Doha agreement. Moreover, the reason behind this decision was political and economic. In terms of politics, the United States had successfully accomplished their mission which was to apprehend the perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks therefore their presence was no longer justified. In addition, this fight dragged on to become the longest war ever fought by the United States costing them thousands of lives and millions of dollars. for the past 20 years, according to a classified intelligence assessment the US has spent over 4 billion every year on the afghan military, numbers amounting to the quadruple of Afghanistan’s GDP. Thanks to this generous help, American analysts predicted that afghans would be able to resist the Taliban for a couples of months, enough time for them to rebuild their army, institutions and livelihoods. Unfortunately, these estimates were highly deceiving making the US directly responsible, if not complicit in the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan. How did the Taliban seize power so swiftly? While afghan forces were hollowed out by desertions, low recruitments and dwindling morale, the Taliban was fully equipped, motivated and most of all ready to fight. They began by overtaking provincial cities and progressively moved in on the capital which they reached in a matter of days. Once they arrived in Kabul, the military laid down their arms and political leaders fled echoing the level of exhaustion of the Afghan population.

Who is in charge now?

Since the Taliban seized control, authority has fallen into the hands of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme commander of political, religious, and military affairs and new leader of the so called “Islamic emirate of Afghanistan”. Under his supervision, the Taliban has been enforcing their interpretation of Sharia restraining the freedoms of women in the name of Islam. Women are now forced to wear burqas, prohibited to leave their homes, and deprived of education. Furthermore, these archaic rules are undoing generations worth of progress and setting back women more than 200 years in time.

In conclusion, the failures of the Afghan war can only teach us a lesson about geopolitics and foreign intervention. In the future, we can only hope that countries will think twice before sending troops and will contribute instead through humanitarian assistance to avoid potential disasters as described above.

Works cited:

“Afghanistan beyond the Headlines: Women, Youth, and War.” Wilson Center, 2020, www.wilsoncenter.org/event/afghanistan-beyond-the-headlines-women-youth-and-war. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.

“Experts React: The US Withdrawal from Afghanistan Is Complete. What’s Next?” Atlantic Council, 31 Aug. 2021, www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/experts-react-the-us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-is-complete-whats-next/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.

“The U.S. War in Afghanistan: How It Started, and How It Ended.” The New York Times, 2021, www.nytimes.com/article/afghanistan-war-us.html. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.

Epstein, Jennifer, et al. “U.S. Troops Exit Afghanistan after 20-Year Military Presence.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 30 Aug. 2021, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-30/u-s-forces-leave-afghanistan-ending-20-year-military-presence. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.