America’s war in Afghanistan came to an end on August 30, 2021, after the completed withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan with the final departure of the Boeing C-17 from Kabul’s International Airport around 3:29 p.m. Eastern Time. The war in Afghanistan is America’s longest conflict, lasting two decades, costing trillions of dollars and tens of thousands of fatalities.
Here are some of the key events from the War in Afghanistan.
September 11, 2001
The 9/11 attacks against the United States by terrorists from the Al Qaeda group. The terrorists flew hijacked airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania. At that time, Al Qaeda was under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden with its base in Afghanistan, granted by the Taliban.
September 18, 2001
Immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a congressional resolution was signed by President George W. Bush, authorizing the use of force against the perpetrators of the attacks, through invading Afghanistan to eradicate the al-Qaeda terror group and topple the Taliban government even though none of the hijackers or planners of the attacks were Afghans. In fact, the U.S. government designated Taliban leaders as terrorists as they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden.
October 7, 2001
Initial airstrikes by the United States and its allies on military targets of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Some 1,300 U.S. troops were sent to Afghanistan. A month later, the Afghan capital Kabul was captured following a sweep operation that led to the fall of several cities with the help of Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance soldiers, an anti-Taliban coalition.
December 2001
The U.S. force reached up to 2,500 troops as operations were ongoing in the mountainous Tora Bora region to track down Bin Laden.
mid-December 2001
Osama bin Laden, succeeded in escaping into Pakistan while U.S. forces and allies conducted a massive operation in the Tora Bora mountains where the leader of Al Qaeda was hiding in a cave complex. According to U.S. intelligence, Bin Laden reportedly escaped between December 14 and 16.
December 22, 2001
An interim Afghan government led by Hamid Karzai is established in Kabul as the Taliban is largely ousted.
April 17, 2002
President Bush unveiled a plan to help rebuild Afghanistan. The U.S. Congress approves a spending plan of $38 billions.
May 23, 2005
Interim Afghan President Karzai is welcomed by Bush at the White House. An agreement is signed by the two leaders to strengthen relations between the U.S. and the Afghan interim government. As the Taliban presence remains a threat, the U.S. pledges to train and equip Afghan security forces and help the Afghan government in its economic political plan.
January 20, 2009
New U.S. administration with newly elected President Barack Obama.
Feb. 17, 2009
President Obama announced the deployment of 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan in an effort to stabilize the country and repeal back the Taliban growing threat.
Dec. 1, 2009
A deployment of another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan was announced by the Obama administration, bringing the total number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to nearly 100,000. That move was made to reinforce operations against Taliban strongholds in the southern part of the country as Obama also declared that he’ll begin the withdrawal of troops in July 2011.
June 18, 2011
Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that the United States and other foreign powers are engaged in preliminary negotiations with the Taliban for a possible settlement of war in Afghanistan.
June 22, 2011
President Obama declared that the U.S. will begin withdrawing troops. Yet it was not a complete withdrawal as some 70,000 were expected to remain in Afghanistan through 2014.
May 27, 2014
President Barack Obama outlined a plan to withdraw all but 9,800 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. He revealed that under his plan, some 9,800 U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan, as that number would also be reduced by roughly half by the end of 2015. The 9,800 troops are expected to take an advisory role, to train Afghan troops and help guide missions to sweep out remaining Al Qaeda elements.
July 6, 2016
President Barack Obama decided to slow the withdrawal of U.S. personnel after a significant drawdown of U.S. active troops in Afghanistan. He reveals that American involvement will continue after the end of his term ends as “the security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious,”. Obama also warned that even if the situation improves, “Afghan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be” to deal with the enemies.
January 20, 2017
Obama left office in January 2017, without fulfilling his promise to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan By that time there were 8,400 U.S. troops remaining. His successor, President Donald Trump vows to remove all U.S. troops.
August 21, 2017
President Trump announced that U.S. troops will continue operations in Afghanistan, warning that the consequences of a “hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists . . . would instantly fill, just as happened before Sept. 11.” Also breaking his vow, President Trump later sends some 3,000 additional troops, bringing U.S. troops up to about 14,000.
Jan. 28, 2019
Beginning of intensive negotiations between U.S. officials and the Taliban in Qatar to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan. The Afghan government is not included in the talks, as the Taliban refuses to recognize it.
September 2, 2019
Top U.S. negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad, announces that “an agreement in principle” was reached with the Taliban. The Taliban bombs an international compound in Kabul, killing 16 people. Nevertheless, fighting were still ongoing in Afghanistan as the Taliban continued bombing targets, including a blast that killed a U.S. service member. Trump was furious about that U.S. fatality and called off a secretly planned meeting with Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at Camp David.
February 29, 2020
An agreement is reached between the Trump administration and the Taliban for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan starting on May 1, 2021. The deal includes that the Taliban should cut ties with Al Qaeda and refrain from attacking U.S. service members. The Taliba asked in return for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, which the U.S. granted by pressuring the Afghan government to do so.
November 17, 2020
Joe Biden wins U.S. presidential election. But the Trump administration is still in charge before Joe Biden takes office. Trump presses his move to fulfill his vow to withdraw all U.S. troops. The Pentagon announces that the number of soldiers in Afghanistan will be reduced from about 5,000 to 2,500 by January 15, 2021. By that time, negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban were ongoing in Qatar, but no positive outcome was reached as clashes were still ongoing.
April 14, 2021
President Biden says he’s committed to ending the war but the deadline set by the Trump administration could not be respected. Biden announced that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan will be completed by September 11, 2021. That decision angered the Taliban who were very eager for the rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops to gain territories.
April 15, 2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kabul on a surprise visit. He met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the presidential palace in Kabul to discuss the situation.
July 6, 2021
U.S. troops move out of Bagram Airfield, its largest military base in Afghanistan.
July 8, 2021
Joe Biden says the U.S. will pull its forces out of Afghanistan by August 31, 2021.
By that time, the Taliban forces are gaining ground against the Afghan government troops, seizing more territories in Afghanistan and a series of provincial capitals.
President Biden says that it is not up to Americans to sacrifice their lives to protect Afghanistan when Afghan forces are not willing to die for their country in the wake of Taliban offensives. For the withdrawal, Biden says “speed is safety,” stating : “how many thousands more American daughters and sons are you willing to risk?… how long would you have them stay?”
August 12, 2021
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul urged all U.S. citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options. U.S. troops withdrawal was still ongoing.
Friday, August 13, 2021
As the security situation further deteriorates, several Western Embassies urge their citizens to leave Afghanistan, including the French Embassy in Kabul. The Canadian government deployed special operation forces to evacuate staff from their embassy in Kabul.
August 14, 2021
As the Taliban are about to enter the Afghan capital Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees the country, triggering the collapse of government forces. U.S.
August 15, 2021
The Taliban finally reached Kabul and took control of the city without major resistance from Afghan government forces.
The U.S. and NATO allies were not expecting the Taliban could take control of the country with such a speed, as they thought that the Afghan government forces would resist longer. Washington began organizing a massive evacuation for Americans and Afghan allies. The U.S. military mission in Afghanistan declares that the U.S. military presence in Kabul is expected to increase up to 6,000 troops to ensure the safe evacuation of U.S. and allied personnel.
August 26, 2021
As thousands of people gathered at Kabul airport trying to flee the country after the Taliban succeeded in taking over Afghanistan, the situation remains confused.
A deadly terrorist attack hit Kabul airport while evacuations were ongoing. Thirteen U.S. service members were killed and at least 175 Afghans. The attack was perpetrated by ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State terrorist group, who are hostile to both the United States and the Taliban.
The situation creates a shock worldwide. Biden vows retaliation, says that those responsible for the attack will be punished.
August 27, 2021
U.S. forces announced the killing of a Daesh-K planner in an airstrike in Nangarhar Province, in eastern Afghanistan.
August 29, 2021
U.S. launches a drone strike reportedly targeting a militant of the Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate in Kabul to thwart a second attack on the airport. The US military said it was a “self-defense” strike on a vehicle in the Afghan capital that posed an “imminent Isis-K threat” to the airport. Yet, it happened that the drone strike was a big mistake as it was later discovered that it was an entire Aghan family trying to flee the country that was in that fast-moving vehicle.
August 30, 2021
The US Department of Defense announced that the USA was completing its final withdrawal from Afghanistan with the final departure of the Boeing C-17 from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport around 3:29 p.m. Eastern Time. The final U.S. troops leave the night before the deadline for the withdrawal. Heavy gunfire was reported in the Afghan capital, Kabul, as pro-Taliban forces were celebrating the final withdrawal of U.S. service members.
Meanwhile, at least 100 U.S. citizens who wanted to leave are left behind as well as thousands of Afghan allies. Washington and Western allies say they will continue to use diplomatic channels to provide safe passage for those left behind. Many Afghans are in fear, particularly women who fear they will lose their rights with the Taliban regime.
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