I would like to touch on one important point in this address. The actions by these young men who destroyed the United States and launched the storm of planes against it have done a good deed. They transferred the battle into the US heartland. Let the United States know that with God’s permission, the battle will continue to be waged on its territory until it leaves our lands, stops its support for the Jews, and lifts the unjust embargo on the Iraqi people who have lost more than one million children. The Americans should know that the storm of plane attacks will not abate, with God’s permission. There are thousands of the Islamic nation’s youths who are eager to die just as the Americans are eager to live.
Sulaiman Abu Gaith claiming responsibility for 9/11 on behalf of Al-Qaeda in a video on Al Jazeera, 2001
Not even one hour after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, CIA officials confirmed to George W. Bush, then President of the United States that Al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, were behind the attacks on September 11th. Whilst bin Laden initially denied these claims, Al-Qaeda spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Gaith came forward in a video, where he claimed that the organisation was responsible for 9/11. A tape was later found by the CIA, where bin Laden also claimed responsibility for the attacks.
America initially took a diplomatic approach. Knowing that bin Laden was somewhere in Afghanistan, they met with Taliban commanders, who were currently in charge of the country, to negotiate the handover of bin Laden. However, while this was going on, Bush made a radical choice. In front of congress, Bush issued an ultimatum.
[T]he United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban. Deliver to United States authorities all the leaders of al Qaeda who hide in your land. Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens, you have unjustly imprisoned. Protect foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers in your country. Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, and hand over every terrorist, and every person in their support structure, to appropriate authorities. Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating.
These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate.
Bush’s ultimatum, September 20th, 2001
Whilst a bold demand, it was strongly backed by congress, who gave the go ahead to use “all necessary and appropriate force” to capture bin Laden and arrest any supporters of him or Al-Qaeda. Negotiations quickly broke down as the Taliban refused Bush’s ultimatum, denying the attacks were committed by bin Laden and citing the Oath of Allegiance bin Laden made to the leader of the Taliban as a reason not to surrender him.
On October 7th, 2001, bombing raids began in major Afghan cities. After ground invasions beginning from multiple areas, the Taliban was swiftly toppled and forced into hiding by mid-2002. Al-Qaeda was practically dismantled other than the underground insurgent groups, whilst bin Laden escaped into Pakistan during the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. It would be a long hunt until they found him once again.
Once the occupation began, two new tasks fell upon the Americans and the other coalition forces that invaded, to reconstruct a new new government in a war torn nation whilst also countering terrorism. After the death of bin Laden in May 2011, Barack Obama increased drone operations in warfare, leading to mass airstrikes which sometimes ended up targeting civilians. Most notably was the airstrike on Kunduz Hospital in Afghanistan, which killed 15 innocent civilians.
Due to these mass airstrikes, the occupying Americans began to slowly be despised by the Afghan population, leading to the Taliban making a comeback. They would organise terrorist attacks in the country, that would end up killing hundreds of innocent people and coalition soldiers. US Soldiers began training the Afghan army to combat the terrorists once they left and equipped them with American Weapons. Eventually, the occupation of Afghanistan ended up lasting 20 years.
Soon, Donald Trump, business entrepreneur turned POTUS, thought that Obama was too methodical with ISIS and wanted to take decisive action in Afghanistan. Trump wanted to crush terrorism whilst focusing resources into “Making America Great Again” instead of on the war. From 2018 to 2020, multiple ceasefire deals were proposed but ultimately shot down by the Taliban. However, a peace deal was signed in February 2020. Trump would not see the withdrawal of troops during his presidency however, due to his defeat in 2020 to Joe Biden.
Due to the coronavirus, many believed that the US should focus more resources on tackling the pandemic and the economic downturn caused by that, rather than focusing resources on a conflict that had lasted over two decades, making it the longest conflict in US history. In an attempt to honour the deal set up by his predecessor, Biden went ahead with the withdrawal. This announcement gave the Taliban an opportunity to take back control, advancing on Kabul, forcing many Afghan soldiers to surrender themselves to the Taliban, before the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was eventually toppled.
In one of the largest airlifts in history, 122,000 people were airlifted from Kabul airport. American soldiers managed to fend off the Taliban for over 2 weeks as the Taliban captured Kabul. The last US plane left on August 30th, with the Taliban capturing the airport the next day and declaring a victory. The War in Afghanistan is considered by many to not only be a somewhat pointless war but its ending is considered to be one of the greatest military catastrophes in history. As of today, the Taliban still run the country, and are not recognised by any nation as a legitimate government, with only 11 countries supporting the Taliban government.
Casualties
- Afghan Security Forces – 66,000-69,000
- Coalition – 3,579
- Taliban – 52,893
- Civilians – 70,000