Summary

The United States went to war in Afghanistan, because the terrorist group al-Qaeda attacked the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. A terrorist group called the Taliban was harboring Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks, in Afghanistan and refused to turn him over. For this reason, the United States invaded Afghanistan. As the war began, the United States first began with an airstrike campaign that lasted for five days. After the bombing campaign, troops invaded and, with the help of the Northern Alliance, quickly took over Taliban strongholds. They took Kabul by November 13 and Kandahar on December 6th, almost two months after the initial invasion.

By April of the following year, the United States’ focus shifted to reconstruction as they attempted to create a democracy in Afghanistan. This had been done before by the United States in post-WW2 Germany and post-war South Korea. To keep the peace, 8,000 troops remained in 2003 as the U.S.’ focus shifted to Iraq. In 2021, United States President, Joe Biden, decided to evacuate Afghanistan by August 31. The sudden evacuation of United States forces in Afghanistan allowed the Taliban to take back the country in a sudden blitzkrieg-like attack. In just ten days, the Taliban had taken control of the entire country. The United States conducted the evacuation at Kabul airport. Chaos ensued as more troops were sent to Afghanistan as they attempted to get everyone out by the August 31st deadline. Now, after 20 years, the Taliban is back in control of Afghanistan.