TheAfghan War of 2001 it was a conflict that began with the invasion of Afghanistan by US-led troops. The invasion of Afghanistan was part of the so-called “war on terror” and was a response to the 9/11 attacks . After 20 years of occupation, the United States withdrew its troops from the country, and the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan.
See also :Gulf War — The Conflict That Made the US Enemies of Al Qaeda
Summary on the 2001 Afghan War
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The 2001 Afghan War lasted 20 years and ended in August 2021.
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It started when Afghanistan was invaded by US troops in October 2001.
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The invasion of Afghanistan was a US reprisal for the September 11 attacks.
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The US objectives were to overthrow the Taliban, destroy Al Qaeda and capture Osama bin Laden.
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The US withdrawal took place in August 2021, and the war ended with the Taliban regaining power in Afghanistan.
What was the 2001 Afghanistan War?
The Afghan War of 2001 was a conflict that lasted 20 years and it began when Afghanistan, a country in Central Asia, was invaded by military troops led by the United States. This conflict was part of what was dubbed by the US government as the “war on terror” and aimed at overthrowing the Taliban from Afghan power and destroying Al-Qaeda .
The invasion of Afghanistan and, consequently, the war itself was a US retaliation p because of September 11, 2001 attacks , responsible for the death of almost 3 thousand people. This attack was organized by Al-Qaeda as part of the war that that organization was waging against the United States.
Over 20 years, Afghanistan remained occupied by US troops , who acted as security forces as Western powers sought to reorganize the country's administration. Over that period, an estimated 3,000 US soldiers died in combat.
In August 2021, the departure of US troops from Afghanistan enabled the Taliban's return to power from the country. To learn more, see:Taliban and their return to power in Afghanistan.
What is the Taliban?
The Taliban is one of the key actors for us to understand what this conflict that spanned two decades was all about. It is an Islamic fundamentalist organization with a nationalist character that emerged in the 1990s in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was formed, initially, by students who attended religious schools known as madrasas.
These students were of the Pashto ethnicity, and the Taliban's role is limited to the places inhabited by Pashto. The Taliban arose in the context of the Afghan Civil War , conflict fought between 1992 and 1996. The Taliban's objective was to seize power in Afghanistan and impose their radical vision of Islam on the population of the country.
In 1996, the Taliban conquered Kabul, and much of Afghan territory came under their control. Thus, the group inaugurated the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, a regime that was recognized by only three countries. The Taliban regime was marked by violence, extremism and authoritarianism and lasted until 2001, the year in which the country was invaded by the Americans.
What is Al-Qaeda?
Another key actor in the Afghan War is Al-Qaeda, one Islamic fundamentalist organization which also emerged in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The emergence of Al-Qaeda dates directly to Afghan War of 1979 , conflict initiated by the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet troops.
The Soviets invaded the country to support the socialist government under their command, and this generated a huge reaction from the Muslim population. A jihad, holy war against the Soviets, who were considered infidels for not being followers of Islam, was called for the mobiliza to take place. tion d Muslims from all over the world to help the Afghan resistance against the Soviets.
This jihad attracted many people to Afghanistan, as Osama bin Lade n , Saudi millionaire. He, along with Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian university professor and theologian, created an organization that was responsible for recruiting young people willing to join jihad against the Soviets. This group became known as Maktab al Khidmat lil Mujahidin al-Arab (MAK) .
MAK became Al-Qaeda in the late 1980s , when the war was already at an end. In the 1990s, it became an enemy of the United States. Al-Qaeda, unlike the Taliban, emerged with a transnational vocation and, thus, seek to expand its activities around the world . In 1996, Al-Qaeda established itself in Afghanistan with the permission of the Taliban.
Also read :Islamic State — terrorist group derived from al-Qaeda
Reason for the 2001 Afghanistan War
During the late 1990s, al-Qaida had already carried out a few attacks on the United States, but they were of small proportion, and the US government's reaction was limited. . On September 11, 2001, a huge attack was carried out by al-Qaeda inside US territory .
This attack began to be organized in the late 1990s and was put into practice years later. In all, 19 terrorists d the group hijacked four commercial planes , which took off from the east coast of the United States. The four aircraft, in the possession of the terrorists, were used as weapons against symbolic targets.
The targets hit by the planes were:
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The two towers of the World Trade Center, an important commercial building that used to be in New York;
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The Pentagon, the building that houses the United States Department of Defense, located in Washington.
A fourth plane had another target, in Washington. It is believed to be the Capitol, the building that houses the US Legislature. That fourth plane ended up crashing in an empty area while flying over the state of Pennsylvania and not reaching its target because the passengers rebelled against the terrorists who hijacked the plane.
Total kills derived from attacks in September 11 was 2996 . The president of the United States at the time was George W. Bush, and it was this government that took the stance that became known as “war to terror ”.
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Video lesson on 9/11 attacks
Invasion of Afghanistan and start of the 2001 Afghan War
After the attacks, US intelligence began investigations and concluded that the attacks were organized by Al-Qaeda . Subsequently, the terrorist organization itself assumed that the attack had been its authorship, which generated a North American reaction.
As mentioned, Al Qaeda had been based in Afghanistan since 1996 and had the support of the Taliban. In Afghanistan, the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, resided, and there were also training bases for new terrorists of this organization. O US government demanded that the Taliban drive al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan and hand over bin Laden for him to be tried for the bombing.
Taliban refused to accept US ultimatum , and this caused the United States to organize the military offensive against Afghanistan. In October 2001, Afghan territory was invaded , and by December of the same year, the Taliban had already been ousted from power in Afghanistan. Members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda fled and hid in the mountains of northeastern Afghanistan or went to Pakistan.
The objectives of the US invasion that began in October 2001 were:
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overthrow the Taliban to rebuild Afghanistan with democratic governments;
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leaders, especially Osama bin Laden. destroy al-Qaeda and arrest its
The US invasion, at first, did not have the support of the United Nations , but later, the UN itself sent troops to Afghanistan to guarantee the security of the country.
The overthrow of the Taliban represented the clear weakening of this group. However, as of 2004, Taliban resumed might military and started a series of attacks against US troops inside Afghanistan. It was then necessary for the United States to reinforce its positions in the country by sending more soldiers.
Efforts to rebuild Afghanistan have proved futile , because the democratic governments that emerged in the country had their influence limited to the outskirts of Kabul, the capital. Furthermore, the corruption of the new governments impeded the development of Afghanistan.
Learn more :Iran-Iraq War — One of the Biggest Conflicts in Recent Middle East History
End of the 2001 Afghan War
The passing of the years made the War in Afghanistan exhausting for the United States, due to the large presence of American citizens in Afghanistan, the accumulation of deaths and the high costs of the conflict. The Obama administration has promised to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, but he didn't keep his promise.
The Donald Trump administration has begun negotiations with the Taliban to consolidate the withdrawal of US troops in the country. Trump has pledged to pull US troops out of Afghanistan if the Taliban no longer accepts to welcome al-Qaida into the country's territory.
Under the Joe Biden administration, the withdrawal was scheduled to take place by the end of August 2021 . News of the US withdrawal encouraged the Taliban to carry out a major military offensive in Afghanistan. They already commanded a large part of the Afghan territory and ended up dominating a series of other regions from the month of August.
US troops withdrew from Afghanistan in fact in August 2021, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled, fearing arrest by the Taliban. The United States left Afghanistan the same way it found it in 2001:with the Taliban in power. The only objective achieved by the Americans in the conflict was the execution of Osama bin Laden , held in May 2011.
Video Lesson on War in Afghanistan (1979 to Present)
Image credits:
[1] GoodAndy45 / Shutterstock
[2] Jono Photography / Shutterstock