- After 20 years of war, the last U.S. troops of the NATO alliance headed by the United States took off from Afghanistan just after midnight on Tuesday morning.
- After the attack by Al-Qaeda on September 11, the United States attacked Afghanistan and its Taliban government in 2001.
- On August 15, when the Taliban swept Kabul, thousands of Afghans and foreigners flocked to the airport desperately to catch up with the evacuation flight.
After the attack by Al-Qaeda on September 11, the United States attacked Afghanistan and its Taliban government in 2001, which had sought asylum in the country.
After 20 years of war, the last U.S. troops of the NATO alliance headed by the United States took off from Afghanistan just after midnight on Tuesday morning.
The following is a timeline of key events:
On October 7, 2001-less than a month after the September 11 attacks that killed approximately 3,000 people in the United States-President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
The ruling Islamic Taliban has been sheltering Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda movement that launched the 9/11 attacks.
The operation opened up a military front in the US “War on Terrorism”. Within a few weeks, US-led forces overthrew the Taliban, which had been in power since 1996.
By November 2001, there were approximately 1,300 American soldiers on the ground, which increased to nearly 10,000 in the following year.
When the US military invaded Iraq in March 2003 to overthrow the dictator Saddam Hussein, the US’s attention shifted from Afghanistan.
The fragmented Taliban and other Islamic organizations regrouped in their strongholds in southern and eastern Afghanistan, from where they shuttled between bases in neighboring Pakistani tribal areas and launched rebellions.
In 2008, the US Command in Afghanistan called for an increase in manpower.
Bush sent additional soldiers, bringing the total number of U.S. troops deployed to 48,500.
In 2009, Barack Obama — elected president after a campaign that promised to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — raised the number of American troops to around 68,000. In December, he sent another 30,000 soldiers.
The goal is to contain the growing Taliban insurgency and strengthen Afghan institutions.
By 2010, there were approximately 150,000 foreign soldiers deployed in Afghanistan, of which 100,000 were Americans.
Osama bin Laden was shot dead on May 2, 2011 in an operation of US special forces in Pakistan.
The NATO alliance ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but there are still about 12,500 foreign soldiers (of which 9,800 are Americans) continue to train the Afghan army and conduct counter-terrorism operations.
With the spread of the Taliban insurgency, the country’s security situation deteriorated, and a branch of the Islamic State (IS) organization became active in 2015.
President Donald Trump canceled any timetable for the withdrawal of American troops and re-deployed thousands of soldiers in August 2017.
But deadly attacks have multiplied, especially against the Afghan army, while the United States has substantially intensified air strikes.
In 2018, representatives of Washington and the Taliban held cautious public talks in Doha, focusing on reducing the US military footprint in Afghanistan.
In return, Washington asked the Taliban to prevent the country from being used as a safe haven for jihadist groups.
On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a historic agreement that paved the way for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan by May 2021.
In return, the insurgents provided some security guarantees and agreed to hold peace talks with the Afghan government.
These incidents began in September, but violence has surged, and the Taliban have been accused of targeted killings of well-known activists, politicians, journalists, and professional women.
As support for military operations weakened, by the end of Trump’s presidency in January 2021, the number of troops in the army had fallen to 2,500.
At the end of April, NATO began to simultaneously withdraw its mission, involving 9,600 soldiers.
President Joe Biden stated that he would stick to the agreement reached with the Taliban, but postponed the drawdown period to September 11.
On June 2, officials announced the withdrawal of all American and NATO troops from Bagram, Afghanistan’s largest air base.
Biden stated on July 8 that the U.S. retreat will be completed on August 31.
The next day, the Taliban claimed that they controlled 85% of Afghanistan’s territory, and the government disputed this.
On August 15, when the Taliban swept Kabul, thousands of Afghans and foreigners flocked to the airport desperately to catch up with the evacuation flight.
More than 123,000 people were airlifted out of Kabul.
Just a few hours before the August 31 deadline, the last of thousands of American troops flew out.
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